But a Dream
by Kaeli Enfys
Summary: Reality is harsh to Yuna, a senior in Yunalesca High. She's shunned by all and hated by all. No one realizes that they're pushing her to the edge, breaking her into pieces...until her biggest tormenter, Tidus, realizes that she can take no more. AU.PAUSED
1. Fly Away Reality

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AN: Woot! My first FFX fic ^-^ It's an AU Tidus/Yuna fic told in Yuna's point of view as she goes through her last year of high school as the most shunned student of Yunalesca High. Though Tidus and his gang despise Yuna with a passion, Tidus and Yuna eventually see just how much they are alike and how they fill each other's holes in life. But even with that, will fate let fairy tale romance evolve or tragic star-crossed love?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own FFX and all its characters =(  
  


**But a Dream**

Chapter One :: _ Fly Away Reality_

by Kaeli Enfys

  


_  
_  
  
I love flowers. All types of flowers, as long as they smell good. I love roses, even their thorns. I love lilies, with their wonderful fragrance and colourful varieties. I love gardenias, sunflowers, daffodils and violets too. And most of all, I love lotuses. The flower that blooms amongst water. The flower that slowly, but surely, unravels and spreads farther and farther...until its beautiful, big and lush petals take your breath away. One can only simply stare, and marvel its beauty.  
  
And all the while...it simply floats.   
  
I want to be a lotus. Silly desire, you must think. But I do. I want to float, above all pain. I want to float, above all sorrow and hatred and anything harmful. I want to float above failure, death, tears, and heartache. Yet, this is all but a dream. Nothing more, nothing less. And I'll always continue dreaming. Who's there to stop me?  
  
Oh, and I want to be a tree. A nice, big strong tree. A tree that the wind can't even sway and bend, a tree that will never get struck by lightning. A tall, strong, regal tree. Yes, that's something I'd like to be...but of course, that's but a dream too.  
  
And suddenly, reality falls upon me once more. Why? Why am I so full of dreams that get me no where? Why are my dreams so beautiful and intricate, that I know if any saw would be envious of them? Of my dreams? But once again, they are only dreams. And who will appreciate them? Who will see them? Dreams will get me no where, and that is exactly where I am.  
  
No where.  
  
Reality. This is reality.  
  
A dream is but a dream. And when you wake up, reality strikes and slowly your dreams fade. No more flowers, no more trees. No more escapes from reality because once it's here, it won't leave until the day ends. Until one can fall back into their dreams once more.  
  
And that's how I go by my days...I wake up, and my dreams fade. Reality embraces me coldly, bitterly, and painfully. But I take it. Somehow. And somehow, I make it through the day. And then I can return to my sanctuary. My dreams. And everything is alright again...  
  
Is this...right? Is this the way to live my life?  
  
When will my dreams come true? When will...reality go away?  
  


*

  
  
Laughter. Giggling. It's everywhere. Filling my ears, but they're use to it. The laughter, their sneers, I feel immune. _ Sort of_ . I hugged my books more tightly around me, sucking in a deep breath as I did so while I turned the corner quickly, never taking another look behind my shoulder. _Never look behind the shoulder_ , I repeated in my mind firmly.   
  
"Hey! Oh Holy One!" A sneering voice rose above all the rest.  
  
I couldn't help but stop in my tracks, feeling my breath grow short as I forced myself to look straight ahead. I would not look back. That way, they wouldn't see the fright in my eyes. The weakness. I would not allow them to see anything. Any of my emotions. And maybe I was feeling paranoid. Paranoid that if they stared into my eyes, they would read me like a book.  
  
Read all my dreams.  
  
"Oh my, is the saint ignoring us now?!"  
  
"Geez, how sinful of you. Won't the gods come and attack you if you be mean to others?"  
  
"Especially since you're ignoring us! That's awfully mean, don't you think?"   
  
"Or are you going to try and cast some protection bubble around yourself?"  
  
I bit my lip. Hard. Sucking in a deep breath, I dared myself to turn every so slightly to catch sight of them. It was always them. Then again, it was always _everyone_. But mostly them...always them...  
  
"Oh oh oh! I think I feel a tingly sensation running through me! She's staring at me with her green eye! Oh no! Rikku, what do you think that means?!"  
  
A slender blonde placed a finger underneath her chin and giggled, "The green eye? Well that's the poison eye! You're probably getting poisoned right now by the vibes she's sending us, Tidus!"  
  
"Oh no!" The tall, blonde youth faked a dramatic faint and smirked. "But of course, Yuna is a good girl, right? She wouldn't poison people even if she knew how."  
  
"You think?" The girl named Rikku pondered out loud.  
  
I didn't hear much of their conversation, I wasn't exactly paying attention. I took another breath and turned away. I wondered what they would say about my blue eye, but I didn't exactly want to know that either. Sighing, I continued on my way towards homeroom with my books clutched so tightly to my chest that my knuckles were turning a ghastly white.  
  
"Hey! Don't think you're just going to walk away from us!"  
  
"Ya! Meanie!" Rikku bounced from one foot to the other.   
  
I was forced to stop as something came in contact with my lower back, causing me to stumble forward a few steps but I didn't fall, thankfully. Frowning deeply, I turned around fully and picked up the blitzball they had hurled at me. I looked up at them, trying to keep my gaze steady as I looked from left to right at the group of four. Oh yes, one was missing. How odd.  
  
There was the usual. Rikku, who was Al Bhed, and somewhere in my distant memory, I remembered being a friend of hers back in...first grade. We had both transferred to Yunalesca High and then...things changed. Then there was Wakka, probably the one who had hurled the blitzball at my back in the first place. He was...well, I thought he was a nice person...but of course, I had learnt not to assume things. And Seymour. Seymour was usually silent, just following that horrid group as they taunted me. Dona was part of them to. Yet she was probably late for school, like usual.  
  
Last but not least, Mr. Tidus. I couldn't help but scowl as I let that name grace my mind. He was a cruel person. Cruel. I couldn't describe the feeling that boiled within me every time his voice rang out through the hallway to throw some hurtful word at me. His words always pierced through the thin walls I built around myself over the years. He always knew the spots to hit, the buttons to push to bring me to tears. Even with just one. Simple. Word.  
  
And this was the group that made me so miserable. They weren't the only ones, but they hurt me the most. I didn't know why. Maybe because the rest of the student population simply ignored me. Gave me the cold shoulder. I'd take that any day than the cruel words they would throw at me.  
  
I sometimes wondered if they had a heart. At all.   
  
"Yours?" I finally spoke up, slapping myself mentally at the way my voice came out as a light, soft feathery sound.  
  
"Well duh, you think it just dropped from the sky?" Tidus guffawed.  
  
My grip tightened on the blitzball as I replied slowly, "There isn't sky above us. But there's a roof."  
  
They stopped laughing.  
  
"Ah hell, there's sky above the roof okay? You get the point, ya?" Wakka made odd hand gestures as he spoke.  
  
I decided against replying, thinking they would simply turn it around on me like they always did. I gave one last look at the blitzball in my left hand and gave it a quick hurl towards them.  
  
It landed right in the middle of the hallway. It was then that I noticed that students had stopped bustling about in the hallways to simply watch me and them. They always did. They always enjoyed watching me...stand here. With them throwing words, things, anything at me. Why? Why, I wondered again.  
  
They were laughing now. All of them. Every single one of them.  
  
"Can't even throw a blitzball down the hall! Pathetic!"  
  
"That's even worse then my little brother Shinra!" Rikku pointed out and the group burst out into another wave of laughter.  
  
"Really?! Whoa, and Shinra's like, real nerdy ya?"  
  
"Totally!"  
  
"Haha, everyone knows how to throw a blitzball," spoke up Tidus who had been silent for a while now, much to my surprise. For an odd moment, I had thought...maybe he had laid back a bit. "But of course, we all know why little Miss Yuna doesn't know how to do such a simple thing. She never had a father to teach her!"  
  
I should have known. He was saving something to blow me off my feet and let me shatter into a billion pieces. I felt my breath catch in my throat. A million thoughts ran in my head. A million possibilities. My father...if he had been alive...all these years, would he have taught me how to throw a blitzball properly? Would I be just like the rest of them?   
  
"Oh, I think she's summoning up some white magic spell," Seymour drawled out casually.  
  
I didn't hear it. Tidus' voice still rang fresh in my mind. I looked up sharply and stared. Stared into his goddamned azure eyes that twinkled mischievously. He thought this was funny. That this was all a simple game. I couldn't help but glare fiercely.  
  
"At least I don't have a father like you!" I spat, shocked at the own venom in my own voice. I never shouted...I never screamed...especially not here. Not to them. Not to anyone...but suddenly I couldn't stop. Tasting the strange sound coming from me was thrilling. "I hear that you hate your father. What type of relationship is that?! It's no better than having...no father at all! You know it yourself! You're just envious because...because you don't want a father too!" I stopped short. What the hell was that?  
  
...it was quite the opposite. I was envious. Envious of everyone who had a father. A strong, well-built man whom they could go to when they needed strength...someone. Just anyone...  
  
I felt my eyes water and I couldn't stand there any longer. I turned on my heels as quickly as possible and sprinted down the hall in a speed I never knew I had. My heart was pounding so loudly I couldn't hear anything even if they had continued to mock me. And yet, I knew I had somehow hit a spot. Everyone knew how much he hated his father.   
  
And suddenly, I felt horrible.  
  
I was being just like them. Being mean and retched and saying horrible things. I stopped running, right in front of classroom 125. I felt my heart twinge, and I timidly turned to look behind me. The halls were emptying out, the bell had rung. They were nowhere in sight. I wanted to...apologize?  
  
I slapped myself mentally once more. Why should I even desire to apologize? They never apologized for anything they threw at me. Never.  
  
How they always jeered and mocked at my white magic abilities. I could understand how odd it may seem to be able to heal a bruise or two in an instance, but once you get use it, it's really normal- in my opinion. It wasn't like I could revive the dead. And...and what was so bad about healing people anyways? Wasn't it a good thing? I sighed.   
  
My abilities had passed down to me from my mother. They never really developed all that much until I was ten...and then people started to notice and the whispering began. But I was never ashamed of my abilities. They had been from my mother, and anything from my mother I would treasure. I always wondered why mother never used her abilities to heal herself before she passed on...I suppose that will remain a mystery.  
  
My mother...died from leukemia, just two years ago. Ever since father's death, when I was seven, mother had been weak and sad. Lonely too. I could see it in her eyes, so dim and tired. Those were our dark years. We struggled to scrap up enough money to live and pay the rent...and with that went my mother's health. She fell into eternal slumber when I was fifteen. Two years ago.  
  
And alone I lived. I coped though. I only needed enough to pay the rent and have my meals.  
  
I laughed softly. Why was I thinking so much? Shaking my head, I hurried up the stairs with fading blue paint. Maybe chemistry class would let my mind feel more at ease.  
  
As I entered the classroom, the room fell silent. I felt my fingers incautiously crawl up to my neck, holding the small heart shaped pendant that I wore on a thin silver chain. It was a locket. A simple locket. But I loved it more than life itself. Within it was a picture of mother, father, and myself on my fifth birthday. Just thinking of it would bring a smile to my lips. Just thinking of it...seemed to make reality fly away.  
  
And that was what I wanted.  
  
AN: EEP *ducks from tomatoes and such* I know I know! Tidus is an evil poopie head but don't worry! This is a Tidus/Yuna fic, I promise you that! And yes, poor Yuna...but things will turn better for her...perhaps *evil grin* Well kudos to all who read this and please leave a review as I'd very much like to hear what you though of it =)   
  



	2. Life

Disclaimer: I don't own FFX and all its characters =(  
  


**But a Dream**  
Chapter Two :: _Life_  
by Kaeli Enfys

  
I found myself spacing out, not really listening to Ms. Lucil who was by far one of my strictest teachers. But I liked her enough, she was a really nice woman underneath the tough outer attitude she showed to students who didn't listen or hand in assignments. It was when the class started laughing that I snapped out of my reverie.  
  
Looking up, I saw that Ms. Lucil was standing at Clasko's desk. Clasko was...well, I thought he was a real sweet guy, but others saw differently. He was rather shy, but he would try so hard at everything, whether he succeeded or failed. Others saw him as a failure. I saw him as ambitious. He always looked on after every failure, and I couldn't help but look up to him in that aspect.  
  
"Clasko, please, how long have we gone over this lesson? The unit test is next class and you still don't understand any of the formulas?"  
  
"I-I---but I do! I really do! See!" Clasko hastily flipped a few pages in his binder and stopped abruptly on a wrinkly page. "See! I got that question right!"  
  
Ms. Lucil sighed, shaking her head slightly as she did so. "One right answer in a hundred won't get you anywhere Clasko. I suggest you see me after school and we can work on it a bit more."  
  
Clasko frowned, "But I have to get back home after school! Gramps isn't home until six and the chocobos need feeding! That's my job, and Gramps will get real mad if I forget and--" the boy trailed off at Ms. Lucil's stern gaze. "...Er--well...I'll try--"  
  
I found myself raising my hand timidly. Ms. Lucil turned to look at me questioningly. "Yes, Yuna?"  
  
"Well, um..since Clasko really needs to get back home, and responsibilities are responsibilities and his is to feed the chocobos...maybe I can tutor him at lunch? Is that alright?" I turned to look at Clasko who was staring at me with wide-eyes.  
  
The class made faces.  
  
Clasko remained silent.  
  
Ms. Lucil smiled softly and turned to look at the young man. "Well, what will it be Clasko?"  
  
I offered him a small smile and his eyes grew even wider. I suddenly felt confused.  
  
"No. No it's alright Ms. Lucil. I'll come to your classroom after school, if that's alright." He said this all in one breath.  
  
I blinked once and quickly turned away, hiding the hurt that was written all over my face. I was just...trying to be nice. Was that wrong too? I clutched my pencil as a few snickers met my ears from nearby students. Someone whispered, "See, even that loser doesn't want to hang out with that freak."  
  
"You know...I kind of pity her."  
  
I felt anger boil within me. I didn't want pity. I didn't want...anything. Just acceptance. Just anyone who'd see me as anything other than a freak. A weirdo.   
  
"Ugh, she sickens me with her kind intentions. It's so obviously fake," this voice wasn't hushed, in fact, she had said it perfectly clear and out loud so that the whole class would hear. Ms. Lucil turned sharply at the young woman sitting near the back.  
  
"Dona! That is no way to talk! If I hear anymore rude remarks from you, I'll be sending you to the office!"  
  
I sighed, of course it was Dona. Dona never thought twice before speaking. She had silently entered the classroom when Ms. Lucil wasn't looking. She was always late. It made me wonder why.  
  
When the class finally stopped laughing and Ms. Lucil had everyone in control again, the class continued and I found myself glancing quickly at Dona. She sat so...tall, and straight, her head held high. Occasionally, she'd turn to her left, or right, and whisper something to someone and they'd giggle or laugh. Her dark hair was always perfectly set in a twisted bun with a few strands hanging down. Her naturally tanned skin was what attracted much of the male population of Yunalesca High to her.  
  
I quickly looked away, down at my own pale hands. I took a strand of my own tawny brown hair, hanging loosely down around my face. I looked to my left, and right, with students sitting there wanting to be as far away from me as possible but couldn't because they had been assigned seats there. A wave of emotion passed through me at these dismal thoughts. Dona and I...we were like black and white. No grey in between.  
  
The bell rung, signaling the end of first block. I stood up quickly, packing up my books as Ms. Lucil walked over to me with a sympathetic gaze. I didn't like that gaze. It made me feel like a stray puppy of some sort.  
  
"Yuna, I want you to know that I appreciate you wanting to help Clasko."  
  
I could only nod.  
  
The classroom was emptying out.  
  
"Sometimes...people are blind," she started to say hesitantly, quickly giving me a glance to see if I was listening or not. "They don't see the ones that shine so bright against the darkness. Sometimes, the darkness over shrouds the light, but someday, mark my words, that feeble light will outshine them all."  
  
My brow furrowed in slight confusion as Ms. Lucil gave a final smile and walked off towards her desk. "By the way, excellent work on your assignment paper."  
  
I nodded again, and finally found my ability of speech. "Thank you."  
  
"Any time."  
  
I walked out of the classroom, feeling lighter and happier than usual. Maybe things weren't all that bad. I wasn't in a world with only enemies. Even if the only person nice to be was my chemistry teacher. At least...it was somebody.  
  


*

  
  
"God, that silly little girl tried pulling the nice-girl act again. You don't know how much that bugs me!"  
  
"Really? What was it this time?"  
  
Dona rolled her eyes and clucked her tongue before she continued, "Well, you know that loser? Clappo or something? Well anyways, he's like failing chemistry miserably and little miss nice girl just had to come up and say in that high-pitched squeaky voice of hers, 'Oh teacher, I'd love to help Clappo with his chemistry! Would you like my help Clappo?' " She flapped her long eyelashes sarcastically.  
  
Tidus, Wakka, and Seymour broke into fits of laughter and Rikku giggled before correcting, "It's Clasko. Not Clappo."  
  
"Same thing," Dona replied with a wave of her hand before perking up once more. "But you have to hear this part! So like, that freak is all expectant that Cla..Clasko would say yes, but he said no! You should have seen her face!"  
  
I heard all this, from my position by the garbage can as I threw out a juice box. Suddenly, the little bit of happiness I felt after chemistry class simply disappeared and I was crashing back down to earth again. I couldn't seem to unglue my feet from the spot as they continued to talk with excitement.  
  
"So anything interesting happen to you guys during economics?"   
  
Tidus shrugged, "The usual. Got a bit of R&R."  
  
Rikku frowned, "I swear you're going to fail everything if you sleep through all your classes!"  
  
"Ya, brudda. I mean, I was actually paying attention before I uh, fell asleep too," Wakka mumbled sheepishly.  
  
Seymour stretched out his arms and smirked, "I happened to have gotten an A in my biology report."  
  
Rikku raised an eyebrow.  
  
Wakka spat out the orange he had been eating.  
  
Tidus simply looked thoughtful as Dona laughed shrilly, "Geek!"  
  
I actually smiled slightly then, for whatever reason. In a way, I thought they were...quite human. They had their mean side, and they had their human side. They weren't completely heartless, I reassured myself. No one could be completely heartless. My smiled brightened. Yes, the world was full of nice people. Everyone was nice. In one way or the other. I just had to look at it differently.  
  
"Hello Yuna."  
  
I looked up, shocked that someone had called my name. I looked around me until I caught sight of Lulu, also a senior and feared by most of the student population. I smiled at her. "Hey Lulu."  
  
"Those people giving you a pain?" She nodded her head towards the group.  
  
I sighed slightly, but nonetheless kept a smile on my face. "Well, the usual. How about you?"  
  
"Mm..just people running away from me," she shrugged her shoulders, causing the long black-sleeved shirt she was wearing to stretch and shift. "But they're not that bothersome. They're scared that I'll zap them with lightning." A bit of electricity crackled at her fingertips before she gave an amused smile.  
  
I laughed, "Oh, you're lucky that people don't...don't tease you that much."  
  
Lulu looked at me thoughtfully before saying, "You know, you're just too...soft. Toughen up a bit and maybe they'll leave you alone."  
  
"...I tried that before," I muttered. "I just feel..like I'm not myself when I snap back at them. Or if I yell and scream at them...I feel so out of place. I guess I'm just use to being...well, me," I smiled a small smile.  
  
Lulu shook her head, "Oh please."  
  
"Well, after this year it's off to college. I'll make it," I said with determination.   
  
"Right," Lulu nodded. "Good luck in surviving this year then."  
  
I nodded, "You too."  
  
Little did I know...that luck was exactly what I needed.  
  


*

  
  
The day had been slow, but I had survived. Another full day gone by. I smiled encouragingly at myself in the girl's washroom mirror before I left and headed out the side doors of the school. It was always empty here, which made it safer for me to go home without being bothered.  
  
Bag heavy with books, I couldn't help but groan as the autumn sun shone cold rays of light. I quickly turned the corner, only to see him of all people. Though his back was to me, I could recognize him anywhere with his haughty way of walking and how his blonde head was always held high and straight. But he wasn't alone. Or...maybe he thought he was alone?  
  
I bit my lip. Two other boys, tall and muscular, were silently walking behind him. I squinted to get a better look. They were definitely seniors. Maybe even in my grade. I couldn't recognize who they were but it didn't look too good. I quickened my pace and silently crept closer to them as we all followed the path by the barb wired fence of the schoolyard.  
  
In a blink of an eye, the two had met up with him and had grabbed him from behind. I gasped so quickly that I made no sound. Who on earth would...be attacking him of all people? No one dare lay a hand on the famous Jecht's son. No one. And no one would anyways. In an odd twisted way...he was liked by many of the school.  
  
_I guess everyone has their enemie_s, I thought ruefully as I watched him struggle with the two on his back.  
  
It was when he was flung to the fence that I snapped out of my daze and realized that he was getting hurt. Though he was strong from all the blitzball he did, two big looking teens against one...well, I knew it wasn't going to be good. I felt my heart beat faster and faster. What to do? I...I couldn't just stand and watch. Even if it was Tidus being hit and it was like a dream come true to have him being beaten up.  
  
"What the fuck is wrong with you people?!" I heard his voice yell with anger as he threw a punch at one guy only to be knocked down by the other. "Get your freaking hands off me!"   
  
I frantically thought as quickly as I could and started to concentrate, clasping my hands together as my hands glowed a serene white for a moment. I directed my hands towards him and prayed for his protection. I looked up quickly, letting out a breath of relief as the two bulky men stared in disbelief as they threw punch after punch only to hit an invisible barrier blocking their attacks.  
  
I smiled to myself. It worked.  
  
Tidus, seemingly surprised that he was not met with bone-crushing punches, snapped back to action and attacked the two without another second of delay. "Take that, you good for nothing bastards!"  
  
"Fuck! Damnit let's get out of here."  
  
"We shouldn't have listened to him in the first place," the other grumbled and took off, his friend following right at his heels.  
  
"Who's him?!" Tidus hollered after them but they didn't look back.  
  
I watched him tentatively as he caught his breath, wiping a bit of blood from his mouth. He groaned, still unaware of my presence until he realized the impossibility of what had just happened.  
  
"What the--" he watched as his body glowed slightly before fading. My spell had worn off.  
  
I knew it wouldn't last long anyways. But long enough.  
  
As he finally looked up, he caught sight of me near the shadows. I jumped slightly, for I didn't think he would have noticed me at all. His brow furrowed as he squinted his eyes a bit, then stared a bit more. I looked back at him nervously and decided that it was time to leave.  
  
Without another word, I continued my way past him until finally his voice broke the silence.  
  
"...Did you...help me?" He finally pieced his words together.  
  
I stopped in my tracks and tilted my head. What was I to say? Yeah, I helped you even though you're a real mean jerk to me? I sighed before I looked over my shoulder, for once not with fright. "Yes..." I found myself saying lightly.   
  
He stared at me a bit more and finally mumbled, "...Freak."  
  
I suddenly felt crestfallen as I turned away again. Of course. What was I expecting? A pat on the back? I shook my head and started walking again. I couldn't quite understand why I had even wanted to help him in the first place, but I had and that was that. As the breeze picked up once more and the leaves of orange, red and yellow swirled about my feet, I could have swore I heard something. Something from him. Very softly...  
  
"...Thanks."  
  
"You're welcome," I mumbled under my breath for no one to hear.  
  
Maybe it was better that way. This was my life. I was nice to all, and hated by all. It was the irony that got to me, but I would hold on. Ms. Lucil's voice suddenly rang clear in my mind again.  
  
_ ...that feeble light will outshine them all._  
  
Yes. Yes it will, I thought.  
  
AN: Ta-da! Ch.2. I know it was a bit short but I'll work on it =P Hope you enjoyed it and R+R! Thank you for the reviews too! Muah! 


	3. Mother's Earring

  
  
AN: Oooh thank you all so much for reviewing! You're all so inspirational =)!! And oh my goodness, I just realized I had that "**Don't accept anonymous reviews"** thing checked and I quickly **changed** that. Anywho, just answering a few questions/comments...yes, no worries, I won't get Tidus and Yuna together too soon. It's just not logical -_- And yes, Lulu is pretty much friends with Yuna...Tidus won't be a meanie bum for too long so just hang on a bit more _ Welpz, on with chapter 3...  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own FFX yadadadadada or its characters etc.  
  


**But a Dream**

Chapter Three ::_ Mother's Earring_  
by Kaeli Enfys

  
    
  
  
Home. Home to me was a small apartment just two blocks down from Yunalesca High in Zanarkand. It was a simple place to live, though many would find it dreary with its bleak brown painted walls. I thought it was nice and cozy. Besides, it worked for me and that was all that mattered.  
  
There was no machina lift to take you up to the seventh floor; the top floor. But I liked climbing the stairs. I got to see Zanarkand slowly grow smaller and smaller as I peered out of the windows on each passing floor. The view was spectacular.  
  
I was paying such close attention to the outside that I didn't notice I was walking straight into someone's path. That was, until I crashed into the person.  
  
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" I quickly apologized as I stepped back, a bit flushed.  
  
"It's alright Yuna."  
  
I blinked in surprise. "Mr. Auron! I thought you were still visiting Luca!"  
  
Mr. Auron was the owner of the small apartment I resided in. He had a gruff appearance but I thought he was kind. He didn't have children of his own, nor a wife, but he managed on his own.  
  
"I got back early," was all he said as he continued past me and down the stairs. "And it's just Auron. No mister."  
  
I smiled even though he had turned the corner and was out of sight. "Yes sir..." I said more to myself than to him.  
  
The seventh floor was the topmost floor with one main hallway. A door was on the left and another on the right wall. I was the only one on the top floor. I would have thought Mr...er, Auron, would have wanted the privacy but he had claimed that he was getting too old to climb all those stairs. He preferred the fourth floor.  
  
And so, I had a whole floor to myself. No one wanted to climb all those stairs. But I thought it was worth it. By some unwritten rule, the one living on the top floor also got the roof. That was where the door on the right wall led to.  
  
The roof was my special place. I'd sit there for hours on end doing absolutely nothing. Well, I would think about things in general at times. I would also just close my eyes and let my mind wander. I'd imagine wonderful things; colourful things in contrast to my bleak life. And if I thought about it long enough, I'd dream about it the following night, making it even more realistic.  
  
That was the roof to me. My sanctuary. The place where I wove my dreams.  
  
But I didn't feel like going up to the roof today. I wasn't really sure why but I had a feeling it had something to do with that encounter with _him_ just half an hour ago. Yes...his piercing azure eyes kept resurfacing in my mind like a tape put on rewind. It was rather bothersome.  
  
I shuddered inwardly. His eyes...they seemed to stare into mine and read everything I was hiding. All my hopes, all my desires...maybe I was thinking too much. I quickly stuck my key into the doorknob of the left side door and entered my room as quickly as I could.  
  
Catching my breath, I couldn't help but laugh. I was being silly. He was too shallow to know what things I had gone through. He wouldn't simply be able to read my eyes like a book. That thought reassured me. A person like Tidus was too oblivious to the dark side of reality. He was rich, popular, famous...he was probably going to become a famous blitzball player just like his father.  
  
Yes...fate was good to him. Reality...everything.   
  
I sighed. Why was I thinking about his future? His life? I had enough worries of my own to think about _his_ life.  
  
"Snap out of it," I ordered myself out loud as I threw my bag on a nearby couch and entered the adjoining room. My bedroom.  
  
I turned on the little lamps scattered about my room. I preferred having them rather than a big light on the wall. It made me feel safer. The dimmer light and all...  
  
Walking to the other side of my room, I threw away a garbage bag covering a canvas propped near the window. It was blank and untouched, a clean page for me to pour myself into. I picked up a thin brush from a nearby bucket and simply stared at the blank canvas. Before I knew it, I was stroking away, dashing black and blues, greens and whites.  
  
I was painting eyes.  
  
...eyes that could peer into my soul.   
  
Beautiful azure eyes that I hated so.  
  


*

  
  
When the sun seeped through the thin curtains of my window, I knew another day had arrived. Another day that many would think of as a fresh new start. But I knew everyday would be the same for me. No fresh new start. Just a continuation of a nightmare.  
  
I stretched my thin pale arms, and out of habit, my hands went to the small locket dangling at the base of my neck. I opened the locket to see my smiling parents. "Good morning," I whispered to them, pretending that they could hear me. I knew they could hear me...they wouldn't ignore me. Even if they were somewhere in the distant glens of the Farplane...the place where the dead would go and linger.  
  
Shaking away my thoughts, I quickly pulled on a blue turtleneck that matched my blue eye and a pair of black cotton pants. A pair of worn sneakers were put on my feet as I hastily brushed out my shoulder length hair. That was that. My morning routine. Nothing too special.  
  
As I entered the small bathroom connected to my room, I heard a strong solid knock on my door. I wondered who it could be, no one ever visited.  
  
When I reached the front door, I quickly hid my toothbrush that I still had in my left hand and opened the door to find Auron standing there in a maroon trench coat. Slightly surprised, I finally managed to find my voice. "Oh! Good morning Auron."  
  
"Glad you dropped the mister," he said lightly and shuffled around a bit uncomfortably. "Right...anyway, this--", he took something out of a small, plastic yellow bag, "is just something I got from Luca."  
  
I stared at the small box in his big hand. Blinking rapidly, I could only utter, "For me?"  
  
He raised an eyebrow. "I would think so."  
  
Still surprised, I took the box from him shakily and blinked. "Oh, but I can't!" I made a motion to give the box back to him but he shook his head.  
  
"You don't even know what it is," was his gruff remark.  
  
I bit my lip and peered at the box. My finger went to the lid slowly and finally lifted it. I let out a small gasp of awe as I saw one single earring staring back at me. It was long, with intricate beads of blue, green, pink, and yellow. I quickly looked back at Auron who wasn't looking at me, but at the earring.  
  
"Oh! But it's so beautiful...I couldn't. Give it to someone more worthy," once again I nudged the box in his direction.  
  
Auron shook his head, chuckling ever so slightly. "There is no one more worthy than you to have it, Yuna."  
  
"...no one more worthy?" I echoed in surprise.  
  
He nodded, his eyes never leaving the fragile object. "It's...handmade. Handmade from a wonderful woman, smart and intelligent. A very likeable woman who had the same stunning left eye as you." His words made me confused and curious. Auron, the little I knew of him, was someone who never said something straight out. He always talked in a way that made you wonder what on earth he was saying in the first place.  
  
There was always something behind his words.  
  
"What do you mean, Mr. Auron?"  
  
"Ah," he looked at me and I quickly corrected myself.  
  
"_Auron_."  
  
He chuckled, "What I mean is...it is handmade, by your mother."  
  
I felt my hands grow weak as I almost dropped the box. Auron must have sensed by sudden shock as he quickly nodded towards the living room. "Maybe you should sit down."  
  
I obliged without a word, suddenly realizing just how important the little earring was to me. I cradled it in my arms and couldn't let my eyes leave it. It was made by my...mother? Once again I looked up at Auron in sudden thought. "But...but how? You got it from Luca?"  
  
"Er..." he stumbled on his words slightly as he followed me into the room. "Well, no. I lied."  
  
"Oh," was the only word I could utter.  
  
Auron sat down on the couch without another word. I frowned. "Well? Aren't you going to explain to me how you got something like this?"  
  
"Do I have to? It's simple isn't it? I've had it with me for a while now."  
  
My brow furrowed in utter confusion. "What? But how? My mother..."  
  
"Left it when she passed on. Left it in my possession, if I may add," he said all this as if it were only normal. I couldn't help but get anxious. I couldn't sit still.  
  
"You knew my mother? How come you never said anything? How come--"  
  
"Calm yourself, Yuna," Auron raised one hand to silence me. I bit my lip. "Yes...yes I knew your mother. Two years ago, I visited her at the hospital--"  
  
"But I never saw you! And I never left my mother's side--"  
  
"Let me finish," Auron answered. "I visited her at the hospital, while you were asleep. I was actually one of your father's closest friends...I hadn't been in touch ever since Braska's...passing, but your mother recognized me nonetheless. She was surprised, but thankful that someone, anybody, was there at a time like that. She gave me the earring, saying it was suppose to be a present for your sixteenth birthday," Auron suddenly looked sheepish. "I'm sorry. It's a year late."  
  
I shook my head quickly. "Time doesn't matter."  
  
He nodded and continued, "She passed on a week later...but she had left me with a responsibility. The responsibility to make sure you got through life, whether it be harsh or cruel. She didn't want to leave you...alone."  
  
"I know..." I said with a quiver.  
  
"You haven't ever wondered how you just bumped into me on the streets, offering people places to live?"  
  
I fell into deep thought as I reflected. Two years ago...a week later, I was suddenly alone in Spira. It had suddenly felt so foreign...but while I was walking down the bright streets of Zanarkand, I had saw a man waving a sign saying that he was offering places for rent at low prices...I had thought, Yevon was on my side for once and suddenly it just seemed too coincidental.  
  
"So you knew...that I needed a place to stay. You knew everything. You knew my mother...you knew _me_, actually," I pondered out loud.  
  
Auron could only nod. "Yes...so I decided to watch you in a distant way...but I've come to realize that you are old enough to know everything."  
  
I suddenly felt tears prick my eyes. I wasn't really alone in the world after all. My father's best friend had been watching me all along. All those days I had climbed those stairs to the seventh floor of this dreary building I convinced myself as cozy and warm...there was always someone watching over me. I couldn't control myself as I jumped up and hugged the middle-aged man.  
  
He was taken aback and quickly pride me off of him. "No waterworks."  
  
I giggled slightly and brushed my tears away. "Oh, I just...I'm so thankful. It's just so...overwhelming. Someone that actually knew my parents...and this," I raised the box containing the earring, "this is amazing..."  
  
Auron stood up and nodded, "I better leave. You have school in ten minutes."  
  
"...Thank you," I uttered as he headed towards the door.  
  
"No problem."  
  
I watched as he stepped through the door and out of sight. That man that seemed so distant and cold...with no family of his own. So many mysteries surrounding him, but I decided that I knew enough.  
  
Looking down at the long beaded earring, I slowly lifted it from its cushioned box and felt its smooth texture.  
  
Mother...  
  


*

  
  
For once in my high school life, I entered the school building with a smile on my lips and laughter ready to burst from my lips. I wanted to scream to the entire school that I wasn't alone in the world and that no one ever truly died. They would forever live on in other people...objects, things you wouldn't give a second thought to. Like the earring I was currently wearing lovingly on my left ear. That was a part of mother. Mother would never truly leave the face of Spira.  
  
Someone deliberately bumped into me. I stumbled a bit but I kept on smiling. The person gave me a look of disbelief and hurried off. I continued to my locker with almost a skip to my walk.  
  
I shook my head and giggled to myself. "Oh, you're being silly Yuna," I scolded myself under my breath as I took out a binder for my Al Bhed class. Shutting my locker, I continued down the familiar hallways with the usual jeering and pointing.  
  
It didn't matter though. I felt like I had a million protection spells on me. Entering Mr. Rin's classroom, I took my seat without a care in the world as to what everyone was whispering about. When the class finally quieted down, I caught a few words.  
  
"Tidus...attacked?"  
  
"Someone saved him?"  
  
"Who would attack Tidus?!"  
  
And suddenly yesterday's events came rushing back to me. Of course the news would spread like wild fire...Tidus was attacked. Tidus, the school's heart throb. I rolled my eyes and imagined the female population all dropping down dead. But no one knew who had saved him. Of course Tidus wouldn't admit to his fellow friends and peers that it was the freak who saved him.  
  
How embarrassing would that be?  
  
I sighed. Oh well. I smiled as I felt the comforting weight on my left ear.  
  
Mr. Rin was just about to start class when _he_ walked into the classroom looking slightly flustered with a bandage near his bottom lip.  
  
"Tidus. Late again?" Mr. Rin said none too happily.  
  
Tidus faked an apologetic look. "Sorry," was all he said as he hurried to his seat next to Rikku. People sitting around him immediately turned around to ask if he was alright and who it was that attacked him.  
  
I couldn't help but look over my shoulder and see if he would point a finger at me and go "Ya, that girl saved me."  
  
But he didn't.  
  
In fact, he didn't even give me a second glance. I turned away and tried to pay attention to Mr. Rin's words, but the emotion from this morning and the events from yesterday kept on mingling in my head that I couldn't concentrate at all until Mr. Rin's voice suddenly said, "Tidus and Yuna."  
  
I immediately looked up with confusion written on my face. There were a few groans and snickers from the class as they all turned to look at Tidus sympathetically. He just give the class a 'I can handle it' look, but he looked pained nonetheless. I was still oblivious to what had just happened until the whole class started repositioning themselves into pairs.  
  
Tidus finally walked over to my desk after I sat there stumped for a good minute or so. He sat down in the vacant seat in front of me and turned around. "So, I guess I'm stuck with you."  
  
"...What?" I blinked stupidly.  
  
He rolled his eyes. Those eyes... "Weren't you paying attention? Oh Yevon! I'm shocked! Miss Yuna, not listening in class?!"  
  
I flushed, "I was thinking..."  
  
He shrugged, "Well since I'm stuck with you, I guess I better explain because you're going to do all the work."  
  
"What?" I was still confused.  
  
He sighed, "That freak just assigned us a project and put us into pairs. We've got to translate all those pages," he pointed to the blackboard, "into Al Bhed by next class." He peered more closely at the board. "Crap, that's a shitload of pages."  
  
I nodded, understanding finally dawning upon me. So...Mr. Rin had stuck us two together. I sighed. Fate was turning on me again. I composed myself, trying to look back at him steadily. "Ok. Then let's get to work."  
  
"Let's get to work?" Tidus repeated and shook his head. "No, no, no Miss Yuna. You don't seem to understand._ You_ get to work," he stated firmly and got up from his seat and was starting to walk towards Rikku who was paired up with a girl named Elma.  
  
I glared at his retreating back and finally found the nerve to say just loud enough for him to hear, "I'll tell everybody that it was me who saved you yesterday if you don't get back here right now and do your share of the work."  
  
He stopped in his tracks and turned around looking incredulous. "Hey, are you threatening me?"  
  
I tried to keep calm at his piercing gaze and nodded firmly. "Yes. I am."  
  
He took a deep breath and walked back towards me. I felt myself waver slightly as his figure came so close that I could feel his breath on my face. A couple strands of his sun kissed blonde hair fell into his eyes but he didn't mind. He leaned over. He was so close...I felt all confidence seep away. Who was I kidding? This was Tidus. No one ever won against Tidus. Why was I getting myself into trouble that I didn't need?  
  
"You don't seem to get the routine of things around here, even after all these years," Tidus said in a low voice. His breath tickled my ear. His eyes flicked towards the left and caught sight of my earring. "And when did you start wearing jewelry?"  
  
I frowned, "Since when did you care."  
  
He smirked and made a motion towards it and I quickly slapped his hand away. "Don't you dare touch it," I would not allow someone like him to taint something my mother made.  
  
He seemed slightly shocked as he recoiled and stood back up again. He stared at me and sighed, "Fine. I'll help you with this crap."  
  
"You're making it sound like you're doing me a favour," I muttered with annoyance.  
  
"I am," he replied and plopped back down into the seat in front of me. "And don't think I'm doing this just cause I'm so scared of the great holy one," he made little hand movements. "I'm doing this for my marks."  
  
I rolled my eyes. "You? Caring about your marks?"  
  
"Hey, don't act as if you know me," he shot back with a glare.  
  
I fell silent.  
  
He flipped open his textbook to page 54 and started reading it. I sighed and proceeded to open my own book until he mumbled, "and you do know that no one would believe you anyway if you did tell everyone you saved me."  
  
I thought about it. I knew he was right. Believe Tidus or the freak? I laughed. Out loud. He stared at me as if I were crazy. I didn't bother to say anything else to him as I opened my textbook. We had fifteen pages to translate. _We won't be able to finish it all in the class time we have,_ I thought in dismay.  
  
He seemed to be thinking the same thing as he looked up from his textbook and sighed, "Ok, look, we won't be able to finish this in one class."  
  
I nodded, slightly freaked that we were on the same thinking line for once.  
  
"So, I guess we're going to have to work on it outside of school," he continued with knitted eyebrows.  
  
I jumped slightly. Him and me? Work together outside of school? "Why not at lunch time or something?" I quickly suggested.  
  
He growled, "I don't want to be seen around you at school!"  
  
I fell silent again.  
  
He continued, "Okay, your place is probably infested with rats so we'll go to my place."  
  
I stared at him disbelief. "You _are_ heartless! I can't believe I actually thought everyone had a nice side. I guess you're an exception!"  
  
He stared at me with raised eyebrows as he threw his hands in front of him in defense. "Okay, okay! Chill...geez, didn't know the quiet little freak had some fire in her after all."  
  
I scowled and firmly shut my textbook. "We'll be working at my place."  
  
Tidus' jaw dropped open. "Didn't you hear me?! I said--"  
  
"I know what you said. I'm not deaf," the bell rang for break. I packed my pencil case, never looking back at his shocked face. In actual fact, I was quite enjoying the feeling of having the upper hand. "Well, I'll see you at my place after class today."  
  
With that, I stood up to leave and headed off towards the exit. Tidus scrambled in his seat and finally got up and ran towards the door, blocking my path. "Wait a minute," he caught his breath and looked frustrated. "Fine, we'll go to your place, _princess_," he said mockingly. "But I don't know where the rat hole is."  
  
I calmly answered him, "Just meet me where we had our little encounter yesterday." I walked around him and out the door, feeling rather refreshed at getting my point across for once.  
  
I heard him curse and I couldn't help but smile with amusement. I didn't know where I got this sudden inner strength from, but I would show him that I did not live in a place infested with rats.   
  
I walked down the hallway, all the while feeling the comforting weight of mother's earring dangling on my left ear. Maybe...maybe mother had given me strength. I smiled at the thought.  
  
Mother...mother, sweet, beautiful mother...  
  
AN: Oh dear. Tidus at Yuna's place? Where will this lead to?! _ Oh, and if you still didn't catch on to what the earring looks like, it's basically the earring Yuna wears in FFX and FFX-2 =P It's such a hard thing to describe...anywho, R+R and thank yee for reading =)  
  



	4. Feel like a Bird

  
AN: Errrrr I don't know what the heck happened to this chapter but there are odd lines/bars running across the page at random points. It's rather annoying but I've been trying for the past hour to get rid of them but they just won't GO AWAY grumble If any of you have any idea why I have these weird lines running about on my page, please let me know! Anywhoo, without further delay and (thank yee all for the support!), here's Ch.4 with a bit of T/Y )

Disclaimer: I don't own FFX and all its characters ( 

****

But a Dream  
Chapter Four :_ Feel like a Bird_  
by Kaeli Enfys 

The day was fairly pleasant. I didn't see much of Tidus and his gang, though I suspected it was because he was a bit embarrassed for having lost an argument with me. Lunch came and ended quickly with Lulu complaining about how she got paired up with Wakka for Geography. I had laughed and told her all about being paired up with Tidus and we agreed that we were both doomed people.

It was last block, and five minutes until the bell when I felt a pair of eyes on me. I turned slightly to catch Dona watching me with an unreadable expression on her face. I frowned and quickly looked away. Maybe if I simply ignored her nothing would happen.

And thankfully, as the bell rang and I hurried out of the classroom, Dona did not approach me but simply watched. Somehow, that scared me even more than her approaching me.

Glad that school was over and I could go back and pound Auron with questions, I shockingly found Tidus standing at my locker. I stopped in my tracks and wondered why on Spira he would be there, but suddenly I remembered the Al Bhed project.

Groaning, I reluctantly had to put aside asking Auron questions about my parents for later. He stopped circling my locker when he caught sight of me approaching. I opened my locker without giving him a second look.

"I thought I told you to meet me outside," I spoke up as I packed my bag.

He shifted uncomfortably and didn't reply. I glanced at him as he rubbed the bruise he had gotten yesterday. I suddenly realized that he didn't want to go there...in case of another attack. Understanding, I decided to leave it at that and not press his buttons.

"Hurry up will you?" He muttered as passersby gave him questioning looks. Why would he be standing with Yuna of all people?

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, yes, don't want to be seen with me, I get the idea."

"Good," he replied shortly.

I shut my locker with a swish of my earring and proceeded towards the front door. Tidus caught up with me, "You never go out the front door."

"Wow, you noticed something about me," I declared sarcastically.

"Shut up," he muttered.

I sighed. I opened my mouth to say, "I chose the front doors because I know you're freaked about the side doors" but I decided against it and remained silent. It was like that all the way to the apartment building. He kept his distance and I kept mine. That was fine by me.

When I started walking towards the brown building, I felt him grimace beside me. "You live here?"

"Yes," I replied monotonously. He probably lived in a mansion with marble flooring and smooth white paint, but I wouldn't let it get to me. Besides, I could live in a place like that. In my dreams. 

"Are you sure there aren't any rats?" He questioned as I pushed open the front doors and into the dimly lighted lobby.

"Scared?"

He fell silent.

I smiled inwardly and started the hike up the seven flights of stairs. I would linger slightly at each passing window, but Tidus would continue on and not notice the beautiful view. I inwardly thought what a thing he was missing. He only seemed to see the chipping paint and the dankness of the building. He didn't see the beautiful city below nor the gentle comfort the building provided.

And suddenly, I felt like I had something he didn't have. Whatever it was.

"Yevon, where the heck do you live? On the roof?" 

I tilted my head, "Good guess."

He stared at me in disbelief as he avoided touching the stair rails as if they were filthy. "Can't this place afford new paint?"

Oh why couldn't he see the good things? Yes...I had been right. He was far too oblivious from reality. He was too enclosed in his own little fantasy world where everything was almost near perfection...he never saw the poor, the hurt, the pained. He only saw what he was use to seeing. The good things in life.

"Well...don't you see anything good in this place?" I began softly as we stopped on the sixth floor.

Tidus shrugged, "Not really."

I ignored his blunt comment. "Look," I turned towards the sixth floor window. "Don't you see anything wonderful from out this window? The view it provides? Zanarkand twinkling below your gaze," I continued breathlessly. "It makes me feel like a bird, able to look over a city like this. I know that...you of all people won't find pleasure nor entertainment in staring out a window...but maybe if you take the time to just do it. You'll realize it's so much more than just that." I placed a hand on the window frame as I watched the city lights glow.

I could hear Tidus moving behind me. I was ready for a rude remark. He probably thought I was crazy now. But I didn't care...

"...So it's kind of like...diving into a sphere pool," I heard his voice say in an impossibly gentle voice. Startled, I turned around to look at him. His eyes glinted in the dim light as he approached the window and stood next to me. "When you get ready to dive, you feel like a bird. Just that one brief moment when you're in the air and nothing can grab hold of you. It's that moment..."

I watched him then, taking in his movements and the way he was looking into the distance. It was that one brief moment when I saw a flicker in his usually confident eyes. A curtain lifting...allowing me to see into him for just one second. And I saw...darkness and something...out of place.

Confusion and curiousity filled me. How could someone like Tidus have darkness in his eyes? Someone filled with so many opportunities and chances. Someone who had everything. Why would anything be out of place in his near perfect life? My thoughts were interrupted as he turned away and headed up the last flight up stairs.

"Are we there yet?"

I guessed he didn't want to talk about birds anymore. Our one moment of understanding was over and reality was back again. I sighed and followed him up the stairs. "Yes, we're here," I unlocked the door and entered, leaving it open behind me for him to enter.

He seemed hesitant at first.

"There aren't any rats," I reassured once again.

He entered looking slightly flustered, but I could tell he was surprised for some odd reason. His eyes had widened ever so slightly upon entering my apartment room. I saw him sweep the room that I had arranged myself with the same little lamps as my room. They were the only things providing light as the thin white curtains were drawn and shut out the autumn sun.

The small dining table was circular and white, lighted by jelly candles floating in small custard cups. The couch was white with simple white cushions but it did not have any splotch of food on it because I took good care of it. There were paintings on the wall, ones I had drawn, and other miscellaneous objects in the front room.

He finally stopped sweeping the room and managed to say, "You...you live here by yourself?"

"Mmm hmm," I took out our Al Bhed textbook and a few sheets of lined paper.

"Ha, would have thought. Who would want to live with you?"

Five minutes without mean remarks had been broken. That was a new record. I sighed and looked at him with weary eyes, "Can't you...just drop it? For the time being?"

He stuttered and looked away. Maybe he was ashamed for once, saying such heartless things. But I wouldn't know, I couldn't read his eyes as he grabbed his own textbook and sat down on the couch. I reached for the earring on my left ear and prayed that I would find the strength to get through the couple of hours with him in my living space.

"Ok, page 54," he broke the silence and took out a pen. "I'll do pages 54 to 61 and you can do the rest."

I counted and noticed I would be doing one more page than him. I was about to speak up when he cut in, "The last page we'll split in half, happy?"

I smiled, "Happy."

The next hour and half was met with silence except for the scratching of pen on paper. He never once looked up from his work, nor did he notice me watching him at occasional times. I didn't know why, but I kept on thinking about that short moment of understanding between us when we had stopped on the sixth floor window. I kept on thinking about the eyes that I saw. The unguarded eyes of Tidus.

I suddenly came to a realization that we all had a mask. Or something covering ourselves, not letting anyone in. I didn't want anyone to peer into my dreams...he didn't want anyone to...to what? I felt curiousity itch at me but I knew I had no right to ask. This young man that had tormented me so heartlessly...I thought I had seen a part of him that even his closest friends didn't get to see.

I thought...I thought I had seen the real Tidus.

The Tidus that had feelings too. The one that could understand. Understand even a freak like me. The Tidus that was hiding...for whatever reason. I thought the Tidus back on the sixth floor was much more decent than the usual Tidus. If only he would show that version of himself more...I sighed. Me and my useless hopes and desires, dreams and silliness.

"Are you done?" He had caught me staring.

I blinked quickly and sat up straighter. "Uh...er...," I glanced down at my page and noticed I had completely went off track and was only on page 64, which meant I had only done three pages or so. When I didn't reply, he got up and looked over at my paper and raised an eyebrow. "Man, you're slow."

I looked at his work and noticed he was all done. I wondered if he had made the whole thing up. He seemed to read my mind as he shoved a piece of paper at me. "Check it if you want."

I checked it. It was all correct. Very correct. Surprised, I smiled at him. "Hey, you're not as bad as I thought."

He shrugged, "What made you think I was stupid?"

I jumped. "I didn't mean to say you were stupid"

"Right," he nodded his head slowly. "Just...don't assume things about me." That was the second time he had said something like that to me. But then again, I realized how right he was. I had been assuming things about him...and yet he had been assuming things about me too.

"You too," I echoed.

Tidus stared at me and reluctantly nodded. He took my finished papers and read them over, nodding his approval. I was still slightly shocked that a star blitz player had the brains along with everything else. "Well, aren't you going to start working?" His voice stopped my train of thoughts.

I nodded and quickly continued translating. I was letting too many thoughts distract me...

When I finally reached page 66, I dropped my pencil with a smile and looked up to where Tidus had been last sitting only to find nobody there. Looking around me, he was nowhere in sight. I was sure he hadn't left as his backpack was still on the couch. Instantly, my eyes went to my room. I frowned. How rude.

I crept silently towards the half-open door and stuck my head in and sure enough, there he was standing with his back to me. My frown deepened and I was ready to lecture him about entering people's bedrooms but he seemed rather immersed in something. Curious, I crept into my room and walked closer to the other end of the room to where he stood.

It was then that I realized what he was staring at. I instantly turned crimson and I begged to Yevon that he didn't notice that the eyes I had painted seemed to be an exact replica of his own eyes. He would certainly get the wrong idea and I didn't intend to have that happen. Not at all.

I coughed.

He jumped and turned around, immediately looking slightly guilty. "Oh! Er...didn't think you'd finish so quickly since you were going at such a slow pace beforeer, I thought this was the bathroom! Yes...bathroom."

I raised an eyebrow and nodded towards my left. "That's the bathroom over there."

He followed my movements and nodded, "Oh! Right! I thought that was the closet or something" He trailed off and walked towards the bathroom door before stopping and nodding towards my canvas. "Good painting."

I was taken aback. A compliment from Tidus? I managed to nod before he disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. I quickly spun around and threw the garbage bag on top of the canvas. Oh, why didn't I remember to cover it yesterday? And why had I painted his eyes in the first place? Stupid, stupid me...painting his eyes of all things...

But I had to admit...his eyes were awfully captivating. Even if they spent most of their time glaring and taunting me. They were beautiful eyes...

I blushed at my own thoughts and hit myself mentally. "Get a grip," I mumbled just as the toilet flushed. I glanced at the clock hanging above my dresser. It was almost 6:30.

"It's getting late, I'm going home."

I looked back at him and nodded. We went back to the front room together and I watched as he packed up his things. "Oh, wait. The last page..." he scratched his head thoughtfully and looked at me. I sighed. I knew he'd leave it to me.

It wasn't like Tidus to be fair to someone like me.

"Hey, don't assume things about me," he said sternly and once again I wondered if I was too readable or if he was plain psychic. "We can go to my place tomorrow and finish it."

Could he surprise me anymore? I swallowed and nodded.

"Then you'll actually understand what I mean about a place without rats," he threw his bag over his shoulder and crossed the room towards the door. "I'm taking a shower right when I get home. I don't want to pick up any diseases." He smirked and opened the door. "Catch you later, freak."

I dared myself to speak. "I...I do have a name."

He looked up, a bit of astonishment written on his face. I guessed he would have thought I'd remain silent. "Oh, really?"

"...Really," I answered, daring myself to look at him straight in the face. "In fact, it's Yuna."

Tidus laughed and shook his head. "You think I'm stupid or what? Whatever, I'm leaving...Tuna."

He sped out the door before I could correct him. I sighed. Who was I kidding? Expecting Tidus to call me by my first name? Oh well...I thought the day had been quite normal with him of all people. It wasn't as...as impossible as I thought it would be.

I touched my mother's earring and smiled.

"He dislikes me so...but that's ok. I can handle it," I murmured.

I didn't know that somewhere on the sixth floor, a particular blonde haired teen had stopped in his tracks and was staring out at Zanarkand with a thoughtful expression on his face.

It was when I arrived at school the next day that I remembered that I wanted to ask Auron more about my parents and how he had met my father and just anything at all about my parents. I was probably too preoccupied yesterday with a chemistry lab report and well...you know who. No, I wasn't thinking about him in that way. I was simply thinking about the ordinary time we had together and how it seemed so...natural. If only he would show that understanding side of him to me more often.

Yet again, I was dreaming of impossible things.

I had physical education first block, and I had to admit that it wasn't my best course. I was fine with the essays and projects, but when it came to sports and bouncing balls, I was...well, hopeless.

But I tried, and it didn't help that most of _those_ people were in my class.

I grabbed a pair of freshly washed shorts from my bag before proceeding towards the change rooms to change into P.E. strip. When I pushed open the smooth oak doors, I could already hear a shriek of familiar laughter from Rikku. I ducked behind a row of lockers to the very back corner where mine was and decided that the quicker I changed the quicker I could get out of the locker room.

But of course, luck wasn't on my side at eight thirty in the morning.

"Ooooh lookie lookie! It's Yuna!" Came Rikku's overly excited voice. I jumped in surprise. Had she just...called me Yuna? My first name? I turned around and there she stood in khaki green shorts and a red t-shirt. "Good morning!" She waved excitedly.

I blinked.

Rikku placed a finger under her chin. "Well? Aren't you going to say good morning to me too?"

Dona appeared beside her dressed in very short black shorts and a yellow halter top. "Yuna dear, it's not polite to ignore people."

I had finally regained my ability of speech but the shock was still there. Rikku and Dona? Speaking to me nicely? I wanted to pinch myself but they would probably laugh in my face. "He-hello."

"See, that wasn't too hard," Dona said with a odd smile on her lips as she eyed me closely.

"Oh look at that t-shirt you're wearing! It's so old!" Rikku declared and disappeared around the corner and appeared five seconds later waving a lavender t-shirt. "Here! You can have one of my extras! I don't look good in shades of purple anyway."

My mouth opened and closed but no words came out. Rikku smiled brightly and skipped over towards me, stuffing the shirt in my hands and taking my old, worn white shirt from me. "Oh, I'd suggest you take your earring off for class. It's so long, it's not safe," she said casually and stared at me with her wide, swirly green eyes.

I could only nod as I took my mother's earring off and carefully placed it in my locker. She was right. Mr. Beclen never liked the idea of anyone wearing jewelry during his classes. He said accidents could be avoided. Dona made a hand motion with her hand and called out, "Hurry up you two, we'll be late for class."

Dona cared about being late or not? What on Spira was happening? As Rikku skipped on ahead, I took the chance to pinch myself. 

"Yuniee! Can I call you that? Anyway, hurry up!"

No...it wasn't a dream.

It was an odd feeling, walking into the double gym doors with Rikku and Dona at my side. It was a very odd feeling...and somehow, I wished I would always have somebody to walk with by my side.

AN: Hm. It's peculiar isn't it...the sudden friendliness...hmm. shifty eyes Teehee, guess you guys will have to wait till the next chapter to see what may or may not happen. Neheheheheh...-


	5. Touched

**  
  
**

AN: Waaa thank you all soooo much for the reviews! *prances about happily* I read each and every one of them, maybe more than once to keep me writing and inspired =) Hope you enjoy this chapter and be ready for some...odd/intense moments...

Disclaimer: I don't own FFX or any of its characters =(

  


**  
But a Dream**  
Chapter Five :: _Touched_  
by Kaeli Enfys

  
  
Mr. Beclen was demanding and rarely let his students slack. He wasn't one of my favourite teachers as he favoured the athletes of the class. Though I tried, he would rarely give me a second glance and I had to wonder if he even knew my name or not.  
  
I suddenly felt a hand grab onto my arm and I was jolted out of my thoughts. It was Rikku, who was starting to drag me towards the cart of basketballs placed on the polished gym floor. "C'mon Yunie! You're my partner!"  
  
I glanced around and saw that Dona was hanging off of Tidus' arm. The only ones part of _that_ gang who wasn't in my P.E. class was Seymour and Wakka. Dona was currently leaning over and whispering something into Tidus' ear. He seemed perplexed and glanced at me quickly before whispering something back to the girl. She seemed satisfied and smiled brightly up at the blonde.  
  
Before I could drown myself in my thoughts again, Rikku had passed the basketball to me which hit my arm and bounced off. Wincing, I sighed and bent down to pick the ball up.  
  
"Oh my gosh! Sorry Yunie! I didn't notice you weren't paying attention," Rikku apologized sincerely and caught the ball as I tossed it to her.  
  
"It's alright," I barely got the ball as she passed it back.  
  
Mr. Beclen was pacing the gym, inspecting us with narrowed eyes. "God! Shelinda! How many times have you dropped the ball?! What are you made of?!"  
  
I winced. He could be so harsh at times.  
  
"Ya, he's such a meanie," Rikku mumbled.  
  
I agreed, still surprised that she was being so...friendly. Rikku seemed to sense my uneasiness and surprise as she hit me lightly on the shoulder. "Oh lighten up Yunie! It's not like I'm going to jump on you or something!"  
  
You might've yesterday, I thought to myself.  
  
"Excellent technique Tidus," Mr. Beclen praised as he passed Dona and Tidus.  
  
Tidus just grinned and raised his hand slightly. "Um, sir, may I go to the bathroom?"  
  
Mr. Beclen nodded. If it had been me, or Shelinda, or somebody, he would have had a fit at us for not going before class. I rolled my eyes.  
  
"Oh, Tidus is such an athlete isn't he?" Rikku commented as we switched to dribble exercises. "I mean, he's awesome at blitzball but at everything else too! And you know, he's not that bad of a student, if he tries that is..." she trailed off thoughtfully.  
  
I nodded awkwardly. It was hard to really agree, as he was a horrid person to me...Rikku tilted her head and peered at me. "Hey! Why do you have mismatched eyes?"  
  
"Oh," I was caught off guard by the simple question but gladly replied. "Well, I have my parents' eyes. Both of them. My mother was Al Bhed," I explained. "That's where I got my green eye from."  
  
"Oooh!" Understanding dawned on Rikku's childish face. "Wow! So you're like half Al Bhed!! Maybe we're related in some distant way!"  
  
I giggled, "Maybe."  
  
It was actually nice hanging out with Rikku. She was such an upbeat, happy-go-lucky person, it was hard to be bitter or sad around her. I found myself letting my uneasiness and doubts go as I giggled along with her about various things. She talked about so many things, normal things, things I thought people like her wouldn't talk about.   
  
In fact, talking with Rikku made the usually long and boring class end as quickly as it had started. I was surprised when Mr. Beclen blew his whistle and told us to return the basketballs into the cart and reminded us that we would be playing an actual game next class. I groaned and Rikku just shrugged, "Ah well, it's better than math!"  
  
I didn't exactly agree but nodded nonetheless.  
  
The boys and the girls separated into their appropriate change rooms. Rikku left my side as she went to her locker and Dona was giggling shrilly about something. Rikku's laughter soon mixed with hers but their laughter died as they finished changing and left. I hurried to my own locker only to find it open.   
  
I bit my lip. Had I left it open through all the excitement of someone actually speaking to me? I sighed, how careless of me.  
  
I opened it wider and changed out of my P.E. strip, carefully folding Rikku's t-shirt and placing it gently into the cubicle. I made sure I locked my locker before exiting the change room only to see a fairly large crowd of people surrounding what seemed to be Dona and Tidus, with Rikku bouncing excitedly near them. Dona was smiling happily at Tidus and he was just grinning.  
  
"Oh Tidus honey, you really are such a sweetie!"  
  
Some of the girls in the crowd sighed enviously. I was so curious that I had started pushing my way through the crowd to see just what they were crowding around and murmuring about. When I had finally reached the front, I felt like time had stopped and my breath instantly caught in my throat.  
  
How could I have been so careless? How could I have been so...so stupid?!  
  
I suddenly felt the emptiness on my left ear. I suddenly remembered placing my prized possession in my locker. The locker which I had forgot to lock. I suddenly understood that I was not about to have friends just in a blink of an eye. I suddenly understood that reality wasn't going to be nice to me.  
  
I screamed.  
  
The crowd fell silent and Dona turned to me with startled dark eyes. Noticing that it was me, she smiled a low smile as she fiddled with the jewelry dangling on her left ear. "Oh, Yuna dear! Nice of you to join us."  
  
"Give it back," I demanded.  
  
"What?" Dona faked a surprised look and glanced hurriedly at Tidus for help. "Tidus, honey! What on Spira is the girl talking about?"  
  
"Ya, Yunie, what's up with you?" Rikku echoed.  
  
I turned to look at her with disbelief. So...so everything had been an act. Everything had been...nothing. Nothing at all but a mere chimera of my hopeless dreams. Of course they'd never really be my friends. Why had I been so naive? I had been too...too desperate. Grasping at the chance that they actually spoke to me...and now...I was crashing back into reality.   
  
No mercy.  
  
"That's my earring," I continued, pointing a shaky finger at mother's earring dangling so prettily on Dona's ear. Oh, it was beautiful even worn by her, but I couldn't stand it. Couldn't stand someone like that touching mother's earring.   
  
Dona fingered the earring in her hand. I wanted to scream. To tell her to get her hands away from it, but I stood, stunned and feeling numb. "Make some sense Yuna dear. You? Owning such a beautiful thing?"  
  
I bit my lip, so hard that I knew I had drew blood. I turned to Tidus then, who was looking so innocent...too innocent. I opened my mouth, my voice cracking, "You know that earring's mine. You saw it yesterday...during Al Bhed class...you tried touching it. You know it's mine! Tell her!" What was I saying? Wanting Tidus to stand on my side? Yevon...I was loosing my mind, but I couldn't stop the words from spilling out of my lips.  
  
Tidus blinked his big azure eyes and pointed at the earring. "This? I found it in the change rooms. More precisely, the girl's change rooms but don't ask," he said casually and the crowd broke into laughter.  
  
I stared at him. Hard. He...he found it. No. He _ took_ it. From my locker. He stole it. He stole it...he stole it...the thought swam in my head. He stole it...for her. Stole it...from me.   
  
It was like stealing my very soul. Stealing mother's earring, the little thing I had left of mother.  
  
"I think it looks good on you, Dona!" Rikku remarked. "And if what Yunie...er, Yuna, says is true, than I'm sure it would look much worse on her ear."  
  
My vision blurred. Were there tears in my eyes? I couldn't tell. I could only feel burning hatred from within me. Hatred...hatred? I never hated...I couldn't hate...but suddenly, I could. I hated so much that I couldn't control the rage in my eyes. I lashed out, ready to scratch those perfect coffee brown eyes from their sockets. Ready to ruin that perfect hair that sat on top of that perfect face.  
  
Dona shrieked and I felt strong muscular arms grabbing hold of me, holding me back from my victim. I fought blindly. "Give it back!" I managed to scream.  
  
Dona stepped back, away from my reach. She looked at me in disdain. "Ch, get your filthy paws away from me. My sweet Tidus got this earring for me, and you're claiming it's yours?"  
  
I had finally got free of those arms and immediately flashed her a death glare. "Yes. It's mine. Give it back."  
  
Dona smirked and fingered the earring once more. My heart burned. "Oh, but it's such a pretty thing...and it's yours..."  
  
"Yes," I practically hissed as I waved my hand at her. "Now give it back already."  
  
Tidus waved his hands in the air, stepping back as he did so. "Whoa, just chill okay? It's not a big deal."  
  
Oh yes it was. It was a big deal alright. A very big deal.   
  
Dona turned her twinkling eyes to me. I didn't like the light dancing in the midst of her dark eyes. I didn't like anything at the moment. "Well, I guess it _is_ yours," Dona suddenly looked surprised. "Ewww! That means I have something that has been on you, on me?! Oh dear Yevon! Gross!"  
  
The next few seconds felt like eternity to me. Her right hand went so fast to her left ear that it was all a blur. I only saw her snatch the precious thing off her ear and throw it to the floor. I only heard the beads scatter and roll around the floor. I only heard laughter. My vision was swimming.  
  
"Well that's that. Ew, and to think I actually thought it was pretty," Dona's voice was so far away...so far away...I could only see a blue bead land and bounce at my feet. I could only here the distant sounds of my dreams shattering...dreams...so useless, so pointless...  
  
I bent down then, slowly, and picked up the single bead at my feet. I felt its smooth texture on my fingertips and how the light danced on it. I didn't know that they were all watching me with strange looks on their faces. I didn't care...  
  
"Uh...is something wrong with her?" Came Rikku's voice.  
  
I couldn't breathe. I choked on my own attempt to breathe. I choked again and again and I finally realized I was sobbing. I couldn't control it. I couldn't stop it.   
  
"...Geez, it was just an earring," I could hear the fright in Dona's voice, but she was trying to hide it.  
  
Just an earring? ...No...it was anything but that. It was so much more...it was my everything. It was mother. It was everything about mother. Her touch, her strength...had all been part of that simple earring.   
  
"...I hate you. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" I was shocked at the own venom in my voice, but I was out of control. I couldn't even feel my own heart pounding at my chest, I couldn't even see clearly. I was jumping to my feet and running...running outside, to the schoolyard, pass curious students. I was running...from all those feeble dreams I had. All those desires, all those stupid things...  
  
I was so stupid.  
  
Stupid, stupid, stupid...  
  
I stopped running at the base of a large oak tree. And I sat. And I sobbed. And I let all my dreams fade and whole heartedly embraced reality. I couldn't run from it anymore. I couldn't hide in my dreams and hoped that everything would be okay.   
  
Embracing reality...that was what I had to do. Cruel, retched reality...  
  


*

  
  
I didn't go to any of my classes that day. I didn't go anywhere that day. In fact, I just sat there, under the big oak tree at the very far end of the schoolyard. I sat, and I sat, and I sobbed, and I stared. I watched the sun cover the clouds and eventually leave. I watched the birds fly and the wind rustle the autumn leaves all dry and crisp. I felt the wind on my swollen face and the single bead clutched tightly in my left hand.  
  
It was so surreal. I couldn't quite grasp onto what had happened. But I knew what had happened.  
  
And to think I had thought he was nice. That he was understanding. He was the devil himself, that blonde haired young man. That young man that I had saved. That young man that showed me a side of him that I never knew existed.  
  
Was all that an act?  
  
He was the one who took it from me. He was the one who gave it to her. He was the one that ruined everything...  
  
I stopped my thoughts. No...no, I couldn't blame anyone but myself. If I had not let my guard down, if I had been...smart, I would have known, would have been able to prevent it. But I was stupid, silly, naive...thought they would actually be my friends. Dreams don't come true...that stupid quote was a lie.  
  
I let my head roll to one side as I leaned against the thick, mossy trunk. I closed my eyes once more and listened to the wind and the leaves around me flutter. A distant bell rung. Was that the school bell? I wasn't sure. I heard people walking, laughing, talking to one another. What do you want to do after school? The movies? Let's go shopping! Sleepover?   
  
Their conversations filled my ears, but it was all gibberish.  
  
"...Hey?"  
  
And yet that voice rang clearly in my head. I felt something nearby jostle about, I heard leaves crunching and someone nearby. I didn't want to open my eyes though. I didn't want to do anything.  
  
"...Hey, it wasn't that big of a deal was it? Just an earring..."  
  
_ Just an earring._  
  
How can you say it so simply? My mind screamed. How can you treat it as_ just an earring_?  
  
I laughed.  
  
"You know...sometimes dreams...and memories...aren't enough. Sometimes...you need something solid, something physically there...to support those dreams and memories..." I sighed. "...those little things in life...mean so much to me." I opened my eyes to see wide, azure eyes staring back at me. I knew it was him, but to see his eyes suddenly made the anger stir in me again.  
  
I stood up and walked on ahead, knowing he was following me. "...So why are you here? To say sorry? To laugh in my face?" I turned around and shakily smiled. My voice wobbled. "I don't need it."  
  
He scratched his head and sighed deeply, daring to look me in the eye. "Ok, look, I'm sorry."  
  
"Sorry..." I echoed and turned away.   
  
He caught up to me and continued, "I don't know why that earring is of such importance to you. Have you never owned jewelry?"  
  
I stopped walking and placed a hand to the locket dangling on my neck. I reached behind my neck and took the necklace off tenderly. He watched me questioningly. I stepped closer to him and opened the locket, and smiled. "...That's me...at age five. That's my father...and my mother...it was my birthday," I murmured. He didn't say a word. "...Life was so beautiful then. Nothing was wrong, everything was right. Nothing was black, everything was white...I was so...oblivious."  
  
"And then everything was gone...just gone...nothing left," I closed the locket. It snapped shut. "Poof," I made a hand movement. "When father died, the first pillar in my life disappeared. My life was breaking, mother was breaking...she tried to stay strong and take care of me while providing us with food and shelter...but eventually, health was taken away from mother...beautiful mother. She was so beautiful, even lying there on her death bed. Her eyes were like emeralds. Her hair like...like yours," I added as an afterthought. "...And gone she went. Away into the Farplane...and I was left with memories."  
  
I didn't know he was staring at me intently. I didn't know he was staring at me with eyes filled with mixed emotions of his own. I only knew I had to get something out of me. To spill my thoughts before I would burst into a billion uncountable pieces.  
  
"That earring...was my mother's," I tilted my head to the cerulean sky. "Mother made it. With her own hands. Her touch, her everything...had gone into it." I looked back at him. His eyes were dim.  
  
"...To me, it _was_ mother."  
  
His shoulders sagged. His eyes suddenly fell downcast. The sun danced on his hair, but he didn't notice how nice it looked. He clutched his hands into fists and finally looked up and met my gaze. We stared at each other for a good minute or so, nothing really mattered, no words said. "...Yuna?"  
  
He took a few steps towards me and stuck a hand into his pocket. He took my hand, the one clutching the single bead, and took something out of his pocket to place into my hand. He let out a breath, and muttered sheepishly, "It kinda looks a bit...wonky, but...I'm not exactly good at this kind of stuff. You know...rough hands from blitz and all..."  
  
I took in a breath and looked down at my hand, daring myself to unravel my fingers. I slowly did, and the sun danced upon not only the single blue bead, but on pinks and yellows...  
  
"Oh! So that's where the last bead was! I couldn't find it and I guess you can add that last bead to the end of it..." Tidus rambled on.  
  
I felt my eyes water.  
  
Mother's earring...there again, in my grasp. It looked the same, just without that one last blue bead, but that could be fixed. Mother's earring...all whole and well. My lips were trembling...my vision swam. I looked up abruptly, into his beautiful, brilliant azure eyes.  
  
I had never seen anything more beautiful.  
  
AN: Whoa, was I in a dramatic mood or what? Ahahahaha well, if you didn't get what happened to Yuna's earring, it broke when Dona threw it. And Tidus fixed it (strung all the beads together again) and gave it back to Yuna! Awwwww *glows* Anywho, some other stuff will be explained in Chapter 6, so no worries if you can detect some loose ends =P Hope you enjoyed this chapter and review away ^-^;;  
  



	6. This is His World

AN: EEEP! Sorry for the slowness of update! Gaaah I was all muddled up with course selections this week and I was rather distressed -_- I have to say there were some really amazing reviews that just made me smile like an idiot. But of course I smile at all of them =P Errrr now I'm contradicting myself...anywho, in this chapter we get to learn more about Tidus' life. Hence the title of the chapter =) Enjoy~!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own FFX tumdedum...  
  
  


**But a Dream**  
Chapter Six :: _This is His World_  
by Kaeli Enfys

  
  
I couldn't stop marveling at his eyes until he shuffled uncomfortably before me. He scratched his head sheepishly and nodded towards the exit of the schoolyard. "Er, if you remember, we were suppose to work on the last page of our Al Bhed project today," he reminded casually.   
  
I nodded and he turned around to lead the way. I followed, but I found myself staring at the back of his head. I didn't know why, but I suddenly felt like I had witnessed the most beautiful thing on the face of Spira. I gripped my earring tightly in my hands, frightened that it would slip away and break once more. I looked down at it and smiled widely, a real smile.  
  
I hadn't smiled so wide in a long time. And he had brought that smile to me.  
  
When I heard a distant beeping noise, I noticed that he had walked up to a yellow sports car parked near the school. I watched as he got in and looked expectantly at me. "Well? My place isn't as close as your place so we can't walk there."  
  
I jogged over to the car and got in on the other side. He started the engine and we were off, down the street and past my apartment building. I watched as the scenery swept by, and I finally found the nerve to speak. "...Thank you."  
  
He stopped at a red light, but didn't turn to look at me when he replied, "...No problem."  
  
I smiled, more to myself then. "...Really. Thank you."  
  
"...I heard you the first time," he mumbled.  
  
"I feel like I owe you my life or something," I admitted with a blush.  
  
He chuckled, "Hey, it's not that big of a deal you know."  
  
"Yes it is," I insisted and turned to look at him just as the light turned green. "It's like you brought back the light into my life again. And...I don't mean to be mean or anything, but...you of all people...being the one to...to bring something so special back to me."  
  
Tidus rammed onto the brakes suddenly, barely hitting a nearby jeep. It honked at us loudly before turning the corner. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! This is way too sappy for me. Cut it out okay?" He didn't say it in a mean way though. It was like... he was teasing me.   
  
I laughed, something I had thought I would never be able to do anymore. But I did. All because of his...his good heart? My mind tingled. Tidus had a good heart? Oh, so many surprises...so much to learn about people around you... "I'm just saying what's on my mind," I explained.  
  
"You do remember that it was me that stole it from you in the first place and gave it to Dona?" A tint of guilt was in his voice. "She told me about your earring...she liked it a lot. I guess I was trying to please her. Anyway...it was only right for me to fix it...seeing that you looked so distressed."  
  
"You know...you never would have done what you did today for me. You...you hate me," I said softly.  
  
He slowed the car down. I took a glimpse out the car window and realized we were by the ocean. I watched as the waves rolled in and out with gulls swooping low on the water's clear surface. "Hate you? That's harsh," he muttered. "What are you trying to do? Get me to say I like you?"  
  
"No! No...not at all," I exclaimed hastily.  
  
"Well, it's not like I'm inhuman or something," he opened the car door and got out. "I happen to have feelings too, and well...I hate to admit it but that look on your face when Dona broke that earring...it was scary."  
  
I got out of the car. "Scary?"  
  
"...Ya. Well, the whole thing was kind of scary," Tidus said as we walked up a stone path. "There was this look in your eyes. Now _that_ was the scary part."  
  
I looked at him with surprise. "Me? Scary?"  
  
"Ya," he laughed. "But I knew we were going too far," his voice went softer and I could barely hear him from the distant sound of crashing waves. "It was that look in your eyes that told me we were...being plain--"  
  
"Idiots?"  
  
"Bastards," he corrected and I simply stared. "Well, we're here."  
  
I had been so immersed in our conversation that I hadn't even realized where we were going in the first place. We had stopped in front of a big, white mansion that had lush green grass and a small garden of every flower you could imagine. A small pond was off to the right with floating lotuses of pink and white. I took this all in with awe as I hurried on ahead to get a better look.  
  
"The door's this way," Tidus pointed jokingly and unlocked the double front doors.  
  
I stopped at the doorway, marveling at the luxurious front hall with its massive chandelier and marble flooring. I didn't want to step into the room, fearing that if I did, it would all melt away at my touch.  
  
"Don't tell me you think there are rats in here," Tidus was throwing his backpack on a black leather couch in the adjoining living room.   
  
"No! It's just...so...so clean," I finished stupidly and stepped into the mansion. I couldn't stop looking at the glinting chandelier until Tidus broke my concentration once more.  
  
"We can work outside. There's beautiful view."  
  
I agreed and we brought our papers and books to the balcony that overlooked the waters below. The glass doors were cool and smooth under my touch as I pushed them gently aside to gain access to the balcony. The wooden floor of it was painted a pale blue with plastic white chairs and orange umbrellas propped nearby. I closed my eyes and listened to the breeze and waves and took in the scent of salty water. Oh, it really was a beautiful place to live in.  
  
Tidus coughed and I was forced to open my eyes and sit across from him on one of the many plastic chairs. He glanced up at me quickly and pointed a finger at a paragraph on the open textbook. "I'll do the top half, and you can do the bottom half."  
  
I nodded and quickly set to work. I wouldn't idle about this time. As a matter of fact, I was ready to finish before him.  
  
"Where the hell are you?! I heard you come in!"  
  
Tidus winced and I looked up from my work. I tilted my head at him questioningly. "Who's that?"  
  
"My old man," Tidus answered lowly and pushed back his chair.   
  
"BOY, DID YOU HEAR ME?!"  
  
Tidus sighed, "Damn him. I better go see what he wants before he screams the chandelier off."  
  
I could only nod and slightly bite my lip as I watched Tidus enter the mansion and disappear down the hall. I didn't know if I should stay put or follow. I decided to stay put.  
  
"Okay...frah dra cih cadc..." I wrote the words slowly and neatly and looked up to watch a gull land on the balcony railing. I smiled at it and it simply blinked and flew off. "Vmo yfyo...vmo yfyo..." I placed my pen on my paper and turned to look at the mansion again. I found myself pushing back my chair slowly and walking towards the glass doors glinting against the sun. "...Oh, but I bet it's private talk," I scolded myself out loud. "He expects me to stay put right here."  
  
I heard a distant shout.  
  
"...And yet I'm so curious to see his father," I blew a strand of hair from my face and took my mother's earring from my pocket and placed it on my left ear. The comforting weight was back, much to my delight. "The famous Sir Jecht..."  
  
Another shout.  
  
I flinched. "Doesn't seem so nice..."  
  
Finally I could stand there no more and pushed open the glass doors and entered the sudden silent house. I abruptly thought how odd it was, two people living in such a big place. Didn't they ever feel lonely? I liked my small apartment because it was cozy, and small. Small made me feel not alone. There wasn't so much space to fill up...  
  
I turned the corner to what seemed to be the living room. I looked behind me and wondered how I would get back to the front room but suddenly a loud, booming voice met my ear. I ducked behind the wall and peered cautiously around.  
  
A middle-aged man with graying hair was looking furiously down at Tidus who looked equally mad. "Can't you be more polite when there are guests around?! She'll hear you screaming your fucking head off!" Tidus yelled.  
  
"Are you forgetting your position in this household?!" The man shot back with a shaking finger. "I make the rules around here, get it through your thick, stupid head!"  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
"Don't talk to your father like that! And who's this...this girl?! Making filthy little friends...what happened to Dona? Now that's a fine girl."  
  
Tidus groaned, "Just leave it."  
  
"What is with you today, boy?! Snapping back at your father, disagreeing with me...and what is this? I got a call from Mr. Beclen saying you refused to participate in the blitzball game against Luca next Saturday? What the hell is that?!"  
  
"I don't want to! Plain and simple! I have a history project due--"  
  
"HISTORY PROJECT? Yevon! How many times have I told you that blitzball will be and _is_ your life?! Just like me, but now I know you'll never be as good as me!"  
  
I sucked in a sharp breath as I watched this scene. It was so...so awfully wrong. Father and son were suppose to be...happy. Understanding to one another. They were suppose to support each other, not cuss at each other. It wasn't suppose to be like this.  
  
"SHUT UP ALREADY!" Tidus hollered.  
  
"DON'T SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT!" The man stormed over towards him and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him from the polished wooden floor of the living room. "LISTEN TO ME BOY! YOU WILL GO TO THAT GAME NEXT SATURDAY AND WIN. SCREW HISTORY," the man flung him against the nearby wall, not caring that the young man had hit the counter holding an expensive looking vase that briefly crashed to the ground.  
  
I gasped and shut my eyes until I heard silence. Slowly, I cracked open one eye at a time and saw only Tidus sitting at the foot of the counter, panting. Still slightly shaken, I crept out from my hiding spot and tentatively approached the fallen young man.  
  
"You're bleeding," I stated, almost squeakily as I spotted the crimson liquid oozing out from his right arm, scratched by the shards of the vase. "...And that vase--"   
  
He looked up at me, startled that I was here and not back on the balcony. "You...you saw all that?"  
  
He seemed flustered. I attempted to smile at him as I crouched down in front of him. "...Hey, it's alright," I took his right hand slowly and placed it on my lap. "This won't hurt," I assured gently and raised my other hand over the wound. My eyelids fluttered as a warm white light emitted from my palm and onto his wound. It glowed briefly before fading, showing a non-scratched arm.   
  
Tidus raised his arm slowly and inspected it. "...Nice trick," he looked back at me with weary blue eyes. I didn't see the usual shine of confidence in them, nor the usual glow of...of perfection. So...so his life was not perfect at all. Tidus of all people had his downs in life too. I took in this new information slowly. I had been so childish to think he had a perfect life, even if he did dislike his father.  
  
I never knew it was like this.  
  
"Hey, I don't like that look in your eyes," Tidus cut in with a warning tone. "Are you pitying me?"  
  
"What?" I blinked back, surprised. "No! No...I mean, it's not good that your...wait, that was your father wasn't it?"  
  
Tidus shrugged, "I guess he is."  
  
"Oh..." I couldn't find anything right to say.  
  
He sighed and stood up slowly. "Damn him...if he wants me to play blitz so bad, he wouldn't throw me against the fucking wall," he groaned as he rubbed his back. I bit my lip thoughtfully and clasped my hands together out of nervousness.  
  
"You...you want me to take a look?"   
  
He looked at me, slightly taken aback but grinned sheepishly nonetheless. "Sure. I know you want to take a look real bad, dontcha Yuna?"  
  
I flushed ten shades of red. I wasn't sure if it was because of his comment or because he had called me by my first name. But then again...he had called me my real name back at school, under the big oak tree. I concluded that it was probably because of his comment.  
  
He laughed, "I was just kidding."  
  
I managed a stiff nod as he turned around and raised his blue muscle shirt to reveal a severely bruised back. My eyes widened as I placed a hand on it. His back was hot under my touch. "This...this isn't the first time," I said it as a statement more than a question.  
  
I saw his head bob up and down to confirm my remark. I said no more as I concentrated on healing the bruises. It took slightly longer than the cut on his arm, and when I was done, I was left slightly breathless. I had never used so much magic at once.  
  
"Are you okay?" He turned around quickly when my hand left his back.  
  
"Yes," I held onto the wall for support. "Just...a bit tired."  
  
Tidus watched me carefully and suddenly took one step forward and picked me up. "Whoa, you're light," he commented.  
  
"What are you doing?" I squeaked, trying to hide the blush on my face.  
  
"You look exhausted," he explained and carried me through the house towards a set of stairs that went down. We arrived at what looked like the basement and he promptly placed me on a yellow squishy couch. "This is my room," he announced proudly.  
  
I craned my neck around to take in the slightly messy, but huge room. It was a typical room of a seventeen year old, with blitz posters and a desk, computer and stereo. He had colourful lava lamps lighting up the area and a yellow and blue beanbag on a darker blue rug. "You have the whole basement?"  
  
There was even a pool table.  
  
He nodded, "I want to be as far away from my old man as possible."  
  
"Oh," I understood immediately. "It...it must be hard."  
  
"Hard?" He blinked while plopping himself down on the bean bag a few feet away.  
  
"Well...having a father that...doesn't appreciate you," I couldn't quite piece my words together and had to rack my brain to not say something blunt or stupid.   
  
Tidus sighed deeply and crossed his arms across his chest. "My old man...wasn't always like this."  
  
I stared at him with curiosity and he continued. "No one knows this...partly because no one ever questions it or asks...but well...my mother passed away when I was six." I held in my surprise and let him go on. "My old man loved her alot. He hated everything when she died from a car accident on my sixth birthday. She was driving to go pick up my birthday present or something...and all I remember is that she never came back."  
  
"...I'm sorry," I whispered.  
  
He shrugged, trying to make the atmosphere around us lighter but I could see a glimmer in his eyes. Were they tears? I didn't know.  
  
"I can't really blame my old man for hating me since," Tidus chuckled. "If it weren't for me and my stupid birthday present..."  
  
"Don't say that..."  
  
"Or maybe I just remind him too much about mom," Tidus thought out loud. "I have her hair colour and she was always so carefree and light-hearted...nothing could bring her down."  
  
"Like you?"  
  
"Naw," Tidus shook his head. "My old man can bring me down with a couple words..."  
  
"But you're still strong," I insisted and sat up on the couch. "Strong to stick up for yourself against someone as big and scary as that."  
  
Tidus laughed whole-heartedly. "You think so?"  
  
"Absolutely."  
  
He smiled, "Well ya...my old man only wants me to be a star blitz player like him...for whatever reason. Maybe he just wants me out of his life or something."  
  
"...Maybe he has good intentions," I suggested hesitantly.  
  
"Him? Good intentions? Yeah right!" Tidus spat bitterly and composed himself. "Well whatever his reasons are, I don't want to give my whole life away for blitz. Sure, it's a great sport and all, but as a career? I'm not that keen..."  
  
"Then follow your own path," I piped in. He glanced at me through strands of blonde hair. "It _is _your life you know..."  
  
He looked thoughtful and fell back, spread eagle onto the bean bag. "And so I thought. But you saw him...and how he gets...a bit...violent."  
  
I didn't know what to say.  
  
Tidus' face was out of sight, so I could not tell what his facial expressions where. I could hear his distant breathing though, and I idly laid back down on the couch and simply waited for him to say more.  
  
My eyes were getting heavy when he finally spoke up again. "...And you know...I felt really bad when you told me that earring was your mother's."  
  
I smiled to myself. Him feeling bad?  
  
"I know what it feels like to have something really special. I would die if I ever lost what my mother gave me."  
  
"Oh? What is it?" I asked with interest as I closed my tired eyes.  
  
"...Er, something," came his voice in a more higher-pitched tone.  
  
"You can tell me you know."  
  
I heard him shuffle around before answering timidly, "...A stuffed moogle."  
  
I giggled uncontrollably. "Wow. The great Tidus and a stuffed moogle!"  
  
"Hey! I thought you weren't going to laugh at me!" His voice seemed offended but he was laughing lightly.  
  
"I never said I wouldn't laugh," I reminded and rolled over onto my side and fell into a more comfortable position on the couch. I stifled a yawn but failed.  
  
"Er--okay, now you probably think we're buddies or something--"  
  
"Ya...ya," I cut in lightly and yawned once again. "We'll be back to our rightful positions in school..." I trailed off tiredly.  
  
I didn't hear him reply, but that didn't matter. It was so comfortable and warm on the couch and my eyes were so tired and slightly swollen from the crying I had done hours ago. There was a nice smell to the couch, whatever the smell was. It only made me drowsier until I suddenly remembered why I was here in the first place...  
  
"...our project...outside...balcony..." I mumbled and felt darkness closing in on me. But it was nice darkness...it wasn't like the usual darkness that met me when I was falling asleep, knowing that I was alone no matter where I turned.  
  
It was such a comforting darkness that I accepted it wholeheartedly and before I knew it, I was drifting away into dreamless sleep.  
  
...maybe for once I didn't need to dwell in them. Just once...once...  
  
"...Thanks for listening to me," I heard a distant voice whisper soothingly. "Maybe...maybe we _can_ be friends..."  
  
Friends...friends...thank you for listening to me too Tidus...thank you for everything....  
  
For once, I fell into peaceful slumber with a smile on my lips.  
  
AN: *squee* A little bit more on Tidus' life...a bit more of a similarity between him and Yuna. Ohohohohoho....welpz, thank yee all for the support! Please review and leave your mark =)  
  
  



	7. Insecurities

AN: Ooooh I am so horrible - Even though it's spring break over here, I still update so slowly. I'll try my best to be more hasty. I apologize to all *snuff* Thank you all for the touching reviews =) WAAAA I LOVE YOU GUYS. LITERALLY. Mmm hmm, anywayyyyys, here is Ch.7 and I have to admit it's kind of boring -_- Well, enjoy.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own FFX yadadadaaaaaadeeeeedaa...  
  


**But a Dream**  
Chapter Seven :: _Insecurities_  
by Kaeli Enfys

  
  
  
I yawned stiffly and rubbed the sleep away from my eyes. At once, I wrinkled my nose and knew that my surroundings were not familiar. I didn't smell the usual dampness of my apartment room and nor did I feel the usual rays of sunlight shining onto my face.  
  
The mattress, or whatever it was beneath my back, did not feel like my bed. It was softer and smelt different. Kind of like the ocean; refreshing and clean. I opened my eyes slowly and met dim light. How odd. I was definitely not in my room.  
  
"You awake?"  
  
I jumped up from my sleeping position and landed in a heap on the carpeted floor. A male voice laughed and I instantly recognized it. Tidus.  
  
"Whoa, didn't mean to scare you!"  
  
I picked myself together and squinted through the dim light, finally spotting the outline of his figure still sitting on the beanbag. I wondered to myself if he had slept through the entire night on that thing. "What...why am I still here?" I questioned rather stupidly.  
  
He got off the beanbag and pulled the curtains back from the huge glass windows. Light poured in like sheets of glass as I reflexively flung a hand in front of my eyes to shield myself from the blinding light. He stood by the window without a care to the sudden brightness. "You don't remember? Ah, well you must have been tired," he mumbled. "You fell asleep and I didn't want to wake you."  
  
I blushed a faint rose. I had fallen asleep? Oh right, of course I had. Yesterday's events slowly returned to my still muddled mind. I had thought maybe it had all been a dream...but no. It was real. And it wasn't just a moment thing. He was still being awfully nice to me.  
  
"Anyway, I finished our project," he continued and turned to grin at me. His grin lit up his whole face. No one would ever suspect that his father was so abusive and cruel. I smiled sadly to myself. "And you better hurry if we want to get to school on time."  
  
I looked at him with surprise and he quickly continued, "I don't care about being late, but seeing that you're here...I don't want to be blamed for ruining your perfect attendance."  
  
I smiled at him. "Okay, I'll be ready in three minutes if you could lend me a spare toothbrush."  
  
"Oh, er..." he walked across the room and entered a white door. He came out seconds later and pointed into the room. "This is the bathroom. I've placed an extra toothbrush, toothpaste and towel if you need it."  
  
I couldn't help but smile even more. He seemed like a pretty organized person. At least bathroom wise. "Thank you."  
  
He shrugged and walked to his closet. It was then that I realized he was wearing his pajamas; a white undershirt and navy blue boxers with a silver dragon design bordering the bottom. I flushed and nearly ran into the bathroom, slamming the door a bit too hard behind me. I caught my breath and stared at myself in the big wall-sized mirror.  
  
My hair was slightly frizzy, but I thought I looked pretty awake for 7:15 in the morning. My mother's earring was still hanging daintily on my ear and a sudden wave of warmth washed through me. I picked up the spare toothbrush, yellow with chocobo footprints, and squeezed out just the right amount of toothpaste. As I was brushing my teeth, I slowly realized that we would be going to school together.  
  
Unless he decided to be mean and let me walk the whole way there. But I silently scolded myself for thinking such things. Tidus seemed to be nice...as strange as that thought was to my mind. It was so weird...it was as if the sudden understanding between us had melted away the barrier that had separated us into two different worlds. That understanding...of loosing someone important in your life.  
  
That understanding of having no mother. And in his case...it didn't seem like he had a father either.  
  
I rinsed out my mouth and paused suddenly. But...but maybe it was pity.  
  
...He pitied me?  
  
I glanced up at my reflection and my blue green eyes fell slightly. Pity...was that what he felt for me? Pity when he saw that look in my eyes when Dona broke my precious earring? Pity when he saw me tear away from them and run to hide beneath the comforting shadows of the oak tree? Pity...that finally made him think he should be nice to me?  
  
Not because he had suddenly thought what a wonderful person I was?  
  
Not that I thought I was a wonderful person...  
  
And maybe right now as I thought about all those possibilities, he could be standing outside grumbling at how annoying it was to be nice to me. For all I knew, he could be screaming curses at me like he usually did. But because of pity, he was laying low.  
  
I swallowed thickly.  
  
Maybe I was thinking too much.  
  
"Hey, are you done yet?" Came a distant shout.  
  
I washed my face quickly. Why did I feel so insecure?  
  
I exited the bathroom slowly, but he didn't seem to notice the look of deep thought on my face as he quickly hurried up the stairs. "Now we _really_ gotta hurry," he mumbled as the last of his blue shorts disappeared from my sight. I followed him upstairs to a silent living room.  
  
"Where's your dad?" I couldn't help but ask.  
  
"Oh, probably out already," he answered stiffly while putting on his yellow running shoes. He pointed to my school bag sitting by my shoes and I quickly followed his lead.   
  
We were out the door and in the car in a matter of seconds. I let my mind wander again as he drove down and up the streets towards Yunalesca High. I stole glances at him occasionally, trying to decipher the look in his eyes. To see if it was real friendship he felt...or just plain pity. Maybe he was scared that I would go emotionally unstable again and he didn't want to carry that burden of knowing he and his friends had caused it.  
  
Maybe he felt like he had to stabilize my emotions first and then dump me into my little corner of seclusion later. Then it'd be back to old times again. It was a cycle. An endless cycle of pity.  
  
I frowned deeply. I was being silly, I reassured myself. He said so himself that he wanted to be friends -- kind of. But it would be okay if he decided not to again. I didn't mind...did I?  
  
I sighed and fogged up the car window for a brief second. It was that sudden taste of friendship that made me so insecure. I had felt what it was like to have a friend, to talk with someone about things. Not just about clothes, or movies, or shallow topics...but something deep. It was that sudden taste of having a "real" friend...and I didn't want to loose it.  
  
I shook my head. Lulu was my friend, wasn't she? But it was so different with her...it was hard to explain the differences, but there _was_ a difference. I could feel it so deeply within myself. With Tidus...it was like an old lost friend I had suddenly found.  
  
But what was I saying? He wasn't some old lost friend. He was more like an old lost enemy.  
  
Oh, stupid insecurity.   
  
"Er, are you going to get out or not?"  
  
I blinked rapidly and looked to my left and right, suddenly noticing that the car had stopped and we were parked in the school parking lot. Tidus was already out of the car but his head was poking in from the window.   
  
I quickly got out without another word, my thoughts still reeling as I watched him lock the car and walk towards the school building with his bag slung across his shoulder. He didn't once look back, and my heart sunk. He was going to ditch me, wasn't he? Just like I had expected. _Hello reality, welcome back, _I thought glumly.  
  
But he turned then, and I knew that maybe all my thoughts had just been silly and pointless.  
  
He looked at me with an unreadable expression on his face before waving his hand, beckoning me to follow him. "You really are trying to get us late, aren't you? Well, I'm surprised! Good little Yuna?"  
  
I knew he was teasing. I giggled to myself and caught up with him as we walked through the front doors of Yunalesca High together. I had never entered the school building with someone by my side. I had never even set foot onto school grounds with someone so close by that they could pass as my shadow. And to think it was with Tidus of all people.  
  
I dared myself to glance his way. And when I did, I knew I would never regret in my life. His breathtaking azure eyes returned my gaze and somehow, even through all my insecurities, I knew that never would I walk alone again.  
  
  


*

  
  
  
When we entered Al Bhed class together, and in Tidus' case, early, Mr. Rin couldn't conceal the look of surprise on his face. I turned my head quickly towards the other students and saw that they all had identical looks of shock and disgust on their face. I shifted my gaze towards Rikku, the only person in his gang that was in this class.  
  
She was looking curiously at Tidus with a questioning look on her childishly cute face. My eyes darted back to Tidus who smiled at her and said hello, sitting down in the desk next to her. I was hoping maybe he would drag me along and say, "And this is Yuna, my new friend," but he didn't and I slowly sat down at my seat closer to the front. I found myself straining to catch any bits of their conversation but they were too far back for me to hear.  
  
I slapped myself mentally. Eavesdropping wasn't exactly good.  
  
"Class, please hand in your projects on my desk," Mr. Rin's voice rang out through the room.  
  
The class didn't move an inch. My brow furrowed and I looked over my shoulder, trying to catch Tidus' gaze but he would not look my way. He was having some conversation with Rikku and didn't seem to notice.  
  
"Well? Isn't anyone going to hand in their projects?" Mr. Rin's voice seemed slightly impatient.  
  
Rikku raised her hand and Mr. Rin glanced at her with a frown. "We didn't finish it!"  
  
The class chimed with her, "We didn't finish it either!"  
  
I looked over my shoulder again and wanted to scream to Tidus, "But we did! We can still hand in our project while everyone else fails!" but I couldn't find my voice.  
  
Mr. Rin sighed, "All of you?" He scanned the entire class and his gaze landed on me. "Miss. Yuna. You are a smart, intelligent girl. Don't tell me you and your partner didn't finish it?"  
  
I sat up quickly and opened my mouth, "No! No, but I did--"  
  
"Did not finish it!" Tidus' voice cut in and I nearly snapped my head back to stare at him. He didn't look at me though as he continued speaking to Mr. Rin. "Yes,Yuna is a smart girl and all, but she caught a cold this week and wasn't able to meet up with me after school to finish it. Health is more important anyways, right Mr. Rin?" He grinned sheepishly.  
  
I raised an eyebrow at him, still boring my gaze into him. What on Spira was he saying? We finished the darn project! Unless he didn't finish the last page like he said he had. But it was only one measly page! We could have handed it in and we would have aced it easily! He finally looked at me and mouthed a few words that looked like, "Talk to you later."  
  
I frowned deeply and turned around in my seat to face the front again. Mr. Rin was lecturing the class about finishing assignments and going on about responsibility and the importance of it all. But I didn't hear much of it as my mind was still fuming and muddled at Tidus' weird behavior.  
  
Was it another trick of some sort?  
  
I begged and prayed to Yevon it wasn't. It really would bring me crashing down to reality if Tidus suddenly popped up with our project ripped into shreds, saying he didn't care about his marks at all and that he just wanted to waste my time and effort.  
  
I shivered at that image and shook it out of my head. A person couldn't be that cruel, right?  
  
And...and we had talked like we were friends. He couldn't have such a quick change of heart, could he?  
  
The bell rung and Mr. Rin was still babbling on.  
  
The class ignored him and each were packing up their books and rushing out of the classroom, pushing by each other with brute force. I slowly picked up my books and stole a glance at Tidus who was being pulled by Rikku towards the door. He shook his head slightly and said loudly, "I'll meet you at the cafeteria in two minutes."  
  
Rikku reluctantly nodded and skipped out the door. I walked out of the classroom until Tidus caught up to me and grabbed my arm. I let out a frustrated sigh and turned to look up at him. "What was that?"  
  
"Okay, well, you see--"  
  
I blinked quickly, "You didn't shred up our project did you? You're not going to throw it into my face and tell me that you don't care about the work we did, right? That you just wanted to waste my time?" I braced myself for his reply.  
  
"Um, no," he answered and stared at me strangely. He opened his binder. "It's right here."  
  
I let out a sigh of relief but suddenly frowned. "Then why didn't we hand it in?"  
  
"Because...because no one else did," he answered quickly and nodded as if it were the most obvious answer on Spira. "Hell no was I going to look like a geek in front of everyone! I'm not the goody goody type in everyone's eyes!"  
  
It was my turn to stare. He ran a hand through his blonde spiky hair and quickly continued, "Well, that's all there is to it. I better go meet up with Rikku at the caf, catch you later."  
  
I grabbed his arm swiftly as he turned to leave. He stopped and growled under his breath. "_What now?_"  
  
I was slightly shocked at the annoyance in his tone and I dropped his hand. "It's just because of that?"  
  
He raised his eyebrows and turned to look at me. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I should be asking _you_ that!" I snapped and calmed myself with a pause for breath. "It's just because you don't want everyone to think you're a nerd? A geek? So you don't want to hand in the project we worked so hard on for the whole week?"  
  
He nodded slowly and tilted his head, "Er, yeah, that's basically what I said."  
  
I continued to stare.  
  
He threw his hands in the air. "Okay, you don't seem to get it. But then again you wouldn't get it anyways."  
  
"Maybe if you explained yourself better I would," I mumbled.  
  
"Okay, well, fine," he replied. "You see, I have a reputation around here. Star player of the Zanarkand Abes and a hell lotta stuff."  
  
I bit my lip. "So this is about your reputation?"  
  
He frowned and nodded awkwardly. "Ya...that's it. That's all there is to it. _Now_ do you get it?"  
  
"...Sure, I do, but--"  
  
"Then that's good!" He smiled quickly and turned to leave. "Catch you later!"  
  
I opened my mouth to stop him but he was running down the hallway now, people waving to him as he passed by. Smiling at him as he passed by. I watched as he turned the corner and headed towards the cafeteria.  
  
At first, his words had been confusing, but I slowly got a grasp on them.  
  
...He did have a reputation here. He did have something to uphold. He didn't want to look like a geek because...because of that reputation he had built for himself. He wasn't suppose to be studious. He was suppose to be a blitz player, cool and relaxed. He was popular and the reason why the female population sighed like lovesick fools during class.  
  
I didn't understand it fully but that was because I didn't have a reputation.  
  
We were different in that way.  
  
I didn't have anything to uphold except...except to be the school freak.  
  
I shook my head to myself and turned to go down the hallway. To Tidus, his reputation was more important to him. For a second, the word 'selfish' flashed about in my mind. I sighed. I guess I couldn't expect a 360-degree change in him when he had decided to be somewhat friendly to me.  
  
Oh, here I was again, being insecure about his true feelings towards me. Maybe it was pity.  
  
And then it hit me.  
  
Yes, we were different in that he had some glorious reputation to uphold while I just had my own dreams to dwell in. But there it was, our similarity. I was so insecure that he would turn away at any second and realize he was being nice to the girl he hated so much some days ago. He would look at me in surprise and flinch, calling me 'freak' or whatever names he had called me before.  
  
But he was insecure too.  
  
He was insecure, just like me. He didn't want his friends to turn on him because he had been a good student and done the project. He didn't want his friends to think he was anything but the cool and relaxed blitz player his reputation seemed to say.   
  
...my anger faded then, realizing that he was just as insecure as me. Just in a different way. I laughed to myself at how odd the situation was. To someone on the outside, we were like black and white, cat to mouse. And yet, if you would just linger a moment longer, you'd realize that the black and white were turning grey and the cat and mouse were sharing cheese.  
  
It was that morning that I decided to help him. Help him realize that being true to yourself was so much more important. And maybe along the way I would drop my own insecurities too. Just maybe I would be able to come out of that cocoon I had built for myself and emerge as a fully developed butterfly.  
  
Then everyone would turn their heads and wonder to themselves what just happened and all the while I would just flutter by with my colourful wings, free from harsh winds and free to fly my own course.  
  
I opened my mouth slightly and whispered, "Tidus is my friend."  
  
The words were so odd, hanging in the air in front of me as I peered around me to make sure no one had heard me. I said it again and it felt nice coming from my lips. I said it until I was sure that it was true. That this was not an act, that this was real friendship, nor was it but a dream.  
  
I smiled as I walked down that hallway towards my locker until a voice called out to me that made me stop.  
  
"Yuna?"  
  
I turned around still smiling. There he was, standing there looking slightly flustered. "Hey," I greeted.  
  
"Sorry about that," he grumbled, all the while looking at the floor. "When I sat down with Dona and everyone, I suddenly realized how selfish that must have sounded."  
  
I tilted my head to get a better look at his eyes. "Really?"  
  
He looked up and caught my gaze. He nodded. "Yeah. But you know what?" He smiled then.  
  
I glanced back at him curiously, "What?"  
  
"I handed it in. Our project. Mr. Rin stared at me real weird but he looked at it and we got perfect," he said this all so quickly and excitedly. It was like he was a child rambling on about his new toy train. I smiled inwardly.  
  
"But...can you not say anything?" He added quietly.  
  
I nodded and he looked at me with a hint of surprise. I giggled, "Well, we can't ruin your reputation now can we?"  
  
He flushed slightly, "Hey! But...er...thanks."  
  
"No problem," I answered. "But you know what?"  
  
"...What?"  
  
"...It really shouldn't matter. If they really are your friends...they won't care all that much," I spoke gently, letting him absorb my words. "Just be true to yourself."  
  
He stared at me, blinking rapidly as he looked away abruptly. "You freak me out sometimes."  
  
"I do?"   
  
"Ya, you and your little mind reading," he laughed lightly but he stopped to look at me seriously. "But you know what?"  
  
I raised an eyebrow. "What?"  
  
"You have to start loosening up! Geez, trust me alright? I'm not going to kick you aside once I think you're not going to break down and cry again or something," he murmured. "We're friends. Plain and simple."  
  
I nearly choked on my breath. He grinned. "Ha! I got you on that one didn't I?"  
  
"How'd you know what I was thinking?" I gasped.  
  
"Well, it's kind of easy to piece together," he replied. "You immediately guessed that I had ripped up our project or something when I didn't want to hand it in. You thought I was going to pull some trick on you again, didn't you? Well, sorry to disappoint you Yuna, but I'm being genuinely nice to you, as hard as it is to believe."  
  
I laughed at the oddness of his sentence, but I couldn't help but notice the wonderful feeling of having my insecurities soothed. I hoped I had done the same for him. It was funny that we were able to calm each other's frights and worries. It was funny how we suddenly understood each other so well. Like two sides of the same coin almost.  
  
But we had our reasons to be insecure. I had been tricked too many times to trust so easily and to quickly accept that he really was being a friend. And I understood now that it was the same idea for him. His reputation was somewhat a pressure, a mold, for who he was suppose to be. He thought his friends were only his friends because of that reputation. He couldn't easily let go of that reputation without a few risks, just as I was putting my feelings into risk for accepting him as a friend.  
  
It was the same idea really.  
  
"Hey, c'mon! I want you to see for yourself that I handed in that project, just in case you still don't trust me!"  
  
"Okay, okay, don't make me feel bad! I do trust you!"  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Uh huh," I nodded.  
  
"Then you're not scared of me right?"  
  
"Scared? Hey I wasn't scared!"  
  
"Really?" He had a hint of mischief in his voice.  
  
"Really!"  
  
"Well then are you scared now?" He reached out so quickly that I didn't know what was happening until I was rolling about on the floor in shrieks of laughter. "Stopppp!!" I shrieked.  
  
"Not if I can help it!"  
  
I launched my fingers at him. "Fine! Then take that!"  
  
And the fight was on.  
  
AN: Eeep, this chapter was more of a "transition chapter" from Tidus vs. Yuna to Tidus _and_ Yuna if you get what I mean. Of course Yuna would feel kind of iffy that Tidus was being nice and of course Tidus has his own little things to deal with too. They just had to get past their own insecurities ^-^ Hohum...things will pick up again next chapter as Tidus' gang finds out that they're friends! Oh dear...  



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